Pakistan cautions against political stigmatization of Covid-19

ISLAMABAD Pakistan Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi has cautioned against the political stigmatization of the Coronavirus pandemic, saying it could jeopardize cooperation among states.

FM Qureshi participated in a joint session of virtual TRT World Forum today, titled “New Realities in Foreign Affairs and Interstate Relations after Covid-19.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Foreign Minister of Finland Pekka Haavisto also participated in the Session that was held on Wendesday.

In his remarks, Foreign Minister Qureshi highlighted the challenges being faced by multilateralism due to rising geopolitical tensions, extremist ideologies and unilateralism which had been accentuated by COVID-19 pandemic. He called for giving primacy to multilateralism and adopting cooperative approaches.

Underscoring the need for global response to fight COVID-19, the Foreign Minister highlighted Prime Minister Imran Khan’s call for “Global Initiative on Debt Relief” for developing countries to effectively deal with the adverse economic impacts of the pandemic.

Foreign Minister Qureshi expressed regret that some states took advantage of the pandemic to advance and consolidate their illegal activities and actions.

Drawing attention to the unabated atrocities in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the Foreign Minister highlighted the crippling restrictions on civil liberties, systematic human rights violations of the Kashmiri people, and India’s illegal measures to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory.

In the context of Afghan Peace Process, the Foreign Minister emphasized that dialogue and diplomacy are the only way forward.

Urging the international community to resolutely oppose divisive policies based on prejudice, discrimination and Islamophobia, Foreign Minister Qureshi stressed the need to build interfaith and cross-cultural bridges. He called for a common resolve against xenophobia, intolerance and incitement to violence on the basis of religion or belief.

During the discussion, the Turkish Foreign Minister concurred with Foreign Minister Qureshi on rising trends of xenophobia, Islamophobia, racism, hate speech and underscored the need for a cooperative approach to deal with these challenges.

The TRT World Forum is a platform that brings together eminent leaders and politicians, academics, journalists and distinguished members of civil society from across the world to discuss global challenges.