Pakistan rejects OHCHR’s statement about constitutional amendment

Pakistan has rejected the statement made by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) regarding the 26th Constitutional Amendment saying it was based on misinformation and inaccurate understanding of the developments in in the country.

At her weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has made unwarranted and misplaced conclusions based on media reports, social media posts and speculative analysis of manifestly political nature.       

The spokesperson advised the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to focus on actual and grave situation of human rights violations where either the international human rights have been rendered ineffective or draconian laws have been enacted to oppress the illegally occupied peoples.

When asked about blacklisting of about two dozen companies by the US, the Spokesperson said Pakistan considers the latest action as biased and politically motivated. Similar listings of commercial entities in the past were based on mere suspicion. She said it involved items not listed under export control regime and yet were considered sensitive under broad catch-all provisions. She said it is widely known that some countries while claiming strict adherence to non-proliferation norms have conveniently waived licensing requirements for advanced military technologies to their favourite nations. She said such double standards and discriminatory practices undermine the credibility of global nonproliferation regimes, increase military asymmetries and endanger international peace and security.

The spokesperson confirmed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has written a letter to the US President requesting for a favourable consideration of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui's mercy petition on humanitarian grounds. She said Pakistan has remained in contact with the US to extend all possible support for Dr. Aafia Siddiqui's welfare.

Responding to a question, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan has never accepted the validity of Indian constitution in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. She said the people of Jammu and Kashmir shall decide their own future on the basis of the UN Security Council resolutions.

Reporter Anwer Abbas