By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Pakistan on Friday rejected a U.S. report which criticized Islamabad over purported human rights failures.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman, Nafeezs Zakaria, told reporters the government had seen the U.S. State Department’s “so-called” Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016.
He said Pakistan did not “recognize the validity of unilateral approaches, including reports sitting in judgment of other states”.
“As such, these reports are invariably inherently flawed and lack objectivity. It comes as no surprise that as regards Pakistan, the report is far removed from the facts and depicts a grossly inaccurate and misrepresented picture,” he added.
Zakaria questioned the credibility of the report for its apparent ignoring of human rights violations in Indian-occupied Kashmir.
He said a “big question mark” hung over the U.S. report on India’s human rights record in 2016 given that it apparently overlooked more than 150 extra-judicial killings of Kashmiris.
India’s use of pellet guns which had injured hundreds of young people plus the arrests of thousands of Kashmiris had also gone unassessed by the U.S. report, he added.
“Pakistan remains deeply committed to the promotion and protection of the human rights of all its citizens. The government accords a high priority to advancing the mutually reinforcing objectives of development, human rights and democracy for the people of Pakistan”, he maintained.
