India on Friday asked Pakistan to stop terror financing and dismantle terrorist camps operating in its territory, and denounced Islamabad’s attempts to “derail the positive developments” in Jammu and Kashmir, reported PTI. Last week, global anti-terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force decided to keep Pakistan on its “grey list” and gave the country four more months to achieve full compliance with its 27-point action plan to avoid being put into the “black list”.
“Stop public advocacy and support for terrorists by Pakistani leadership at the highest level, end illegal and forcible occupation and reverse the demographic changes in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir and take structural reforms to develop a semblance of democracy in Pakistan,” First Secretary in India’s Permanent Mission Vimarsh Aryan said. He made the remarks at the ongoing 43rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council being held in Switzerland between February 24 and March 20.
India listed out ten points for Islamabad to work on that included taking structural reforms to “develop a semblance of democracy in Pakistan”, stop harassment and execution of minorities through the country’s blasphemy law. “End forced conversions and marriages of women and girls from Hindu, Sikh and Christian religions,” the list read. “Stop killing and targeting political dissidents and legitimate criticism in Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”
Prevention of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of journalists and activists, and putting an end to religious persecution were also included in India’s 10-point list for Pakistan. “Stop recruitment of children for terror activities including suicide bombing in other countries,” the statement concluded. The Indian diplomat claimed that the world was aware of Pakistan’s human rights record, and that a tight control would not be able to hide it.
On Wednesday, Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup hit out at Islamabad for raising Jammu and Kashmir in the United Nations Human Rights Council session, and asserted that the region “was, is, and shall forever” be integral to India. “It is more than a little ironical that a nation that has become the world’s leading exporter of terror and violence seeks to lecture others about human rights,” Swarup said.
On Friday, Aryan also referred to Belgium’s remark on the proposed National Register of Citizens – an exercise to identify undocumented migrants. “As a close partner of India, we wish, Belgium could have checked the factual position with us before coming to any conclusion on the issue,” Aryan said. “Our Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] has clearly said that no discussions have taken place on NRC anywhere except following the Supreme Court directives in Assam.”
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