ISLAMABAD: Islamabad on Tuesday termed a statement by Israel that criticised the human rights situation in Pakistan during a United Nations session as politically motivated and fundamentally at variance with the positive tone of the gathering.
The strong rebuttal from the Foreign Office comes hours after Israel’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Adi Farjon, expressed concern about the human rights situation in Pakistan during a UN Human Rights Council meeting.
She said that Israel is deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Pakistan, where crackdown on peaceful protests, enforced disappearances, torture, and violence against religious minorities and other marginalised communities remain prevalent.
She added that Israel believes that it is necessary that Islamabad heeds its recommendations to take measures to prevent torture, arbitrary arrests, and ill-treatment as well as bring perpetrators to justice and stop the widespread use of the death sentence, particularly against children and persons with disabilities.
Pakistan’s Universal Periodic Report adopted unanimously
In its rebuttal, the Foreign Office noted that Pakistan’s Universal Periodic Report —a process which involves a review of the human rights records of United Nations member countries — was adopted unanimously in the same setting.
It said that several countries and civil society bodies appreciated Pakistan on the progress achieved in promoting human rights.
It added taht the politically motivated statement from Israel is fundamentally at variance with the otherwise positive tone of the sitting and the statements made by a vast majority of countries.
The statement said that given the long history of Israel oppression of Palestinians, Pakistan can certainly do without its advice on protecting human rights.
