‘Risk of statelessness for 2 million Muslims’: In Pakistan, UN chief Antonio Guterres fear-mongers over CAA
Islamabad: During his four-day visit to Pakistan which concludes on Wednesday, the Secretary-General of the United Nations has sought to provoke India by criticising the Citizenship (Amendment) Act which seeks to provide citizenship to minorities who have suffered religious persecution in three neighbouring countries.
Expressing concern for India’s Muslims, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said there was a “risk of statelessness for two million Muslims excluded by the divisive Citizenship (Amendment) Act passed by the Indian Parliament”.
Guterres was quoted by Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper as saying that the alleged growing discrimination against the minorities in India had personally concerned him.
“All the reports, including two by the UN High Commissioner, in the international media, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and recent fact-finding reports on Kashmir released in New Delhi, regarding torture, sexual abuse and incarceration of children as young as seven by the Indian military”, played a key role in “clarifying exactly what is happening” in Kashmir and “it is essential that these reports are taken seriously”, the UN chief was quoted as saying in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s ‘peace efforts’
While not speaking a word on cross-border terrorism being perpetrated from Pakistan with the support of the establishment, the UN chief lauded Islamabad for its peace efforts. He specifically lauded Prime Minister Imran Khan and his country’s efforts to provide refuge to the Afghan people.
“For 40 years, Pakistan has sheltered Afghan refugees. I urge the world to support host countries and show similar leadership in standing with the refugees. The country has stood in solidarity with the refugees from Afghanistan for 40 years, showing how generosity is not always proportional to wealth,” he said.
The UN Secretary-General also described Pakistan as a consistent and reliable contributors to the UN peacekeeping efforts around the world, stating in a tweet: “I am closely following vital peace efforts in Afghanistan to reduce violence, especially against civilians. By building regional consensus, Pakistan’s role in this process remains crucial.”
The UN chief, who visited the Kartarpur Corridor, lauded the Pakistan government for opening “a symbol of interfaith harmony” but chose to skip mentioning India’s efforts.
‘Sponsor of terrorism’
Earlier this week also, the UN chief had praised Pakistan’s efforts in the war against terrorism. Those remarks had irked the authorities in India, with Kashmir’s divisional commissioner Baseer Ahmad Khan saying Guterres was praising the sponsors of terrorism.
“World must be laughing. Those who are responsible for the bloodshed in Kashmir valley are being applauded by UN Secretary-General. Many civilians, Kashmiri Pandits, cops, security forces, political activists and peace activists were killed in Jammu and Kashmir by those whom UN Secretary-General is applauding for curbing terrorism,” the official was quoted as saying in a report.
