Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: President-elect of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Volkan Bozkir on Monday expressed his strong support for the longstanding dispute of Jammu and Kashmir, linking it with peace and stability of the South Asian region. “The Jammu and Kashmir dispute needs to be settled through peaceful means,” the visiting UNGA dignitary said at a joint press stakeout with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi here at the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The UNGA president-elect, who arrived in Islamabad on a two-day visit earlier in the day, said, the “meaningful engagement of political and diplomatic channels” was significant to resolve the issue in accordance with the resolutions of UN Security Council.Bozkir, the first Turkish national to hold this position for 75th UNGA session, said Turkey’s position on Jammu and Kashmir was well-known and its foreign ministry had issued a strong statement over India’s action of August 5. FM Qureshi mentioned that during his meeting with the UNGA president-elect, he briefed him about the evolving situation of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) facing military siege for last one year, human rights violations, and illegal search and cordon operations.
Moreover, The incoming president of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Monday called on Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on the first day of his two-day maiden tour to Pakistan. According to a Foreign Office press release, Volkan Bozkir and Qureshi, who welcomed the visiting UN official upon his arrival at the Foreign Office, held wide-ranging talks on issues relating to the three main pillars of the UN’s work peace and security, development, and human rights. The foreign minister, Radio Pakistan said, sought an effective role of the UN General Assembly in resolving the longstanding Kashmir dispute under the UN Security Council resolutions.
Qureshi apprised Bozkir of Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts to highlight the dispute between two arch-rivals at related international forums in addition to the plight of the people of Indian occupied Kashmir. He said the Modi government’s revocation of Article 370, which granted semi-autonomous status to the held region, was done in sheer violation of relevant UNSC resolutions calling for the resolution of the dispute according to the wishes of Kashmiris. The foreign minister informed the president-elect that human rights abuses including state-backed extra-judicial killings, sexual assault/harassment of women and children has become a norm in the valley which has been under a complete lockdown since Aug 5 last year.
Qureshi recalled that the Kashmir is an international dispute according to the UN resolutions, saying Pakistan’s stance has been endorsed by the UN on Aug 8 last year. Qureshi also briefed Bozkir on Pakistan’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. He was of the view that a comprehensive joint strategy was needed to combat the pandemic which has brought life to a standstill since its outbreak in November last year.
Earlier, Bozkir planted a sapling at the Foreign Office under the national plantation drive.Later in the day, Bozkir is scheduled to call on Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
