F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday said guided by the founding principles of Non-Aligned Movement, Pakistan would continue to play its due role in the efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact.
“Our efforts to fight COVID-19 and its impact must not remain oblivious to the dangerous trends that have ominously crept up in the wake of the pandemic,” he said while addressing the Online Summit Level Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement Contact Group in response to COVID-19.
The online NAM summit was convened by the Chair Azerbaijan on the theme of “United against COVID-19”.
The president said, “There has been an alarming increase in religious intolerance, hate speech, Islamophobia, Xenophobia and other forms of discrimination, resulting in incitement to hatred against and scapegoating of religious minorities for the spread of virus.
“Those targeted, especially children, women, and elderly, have faced verbal abuse, death threats and physical attacks, and have even been denied access to vital health services”, he added.
President Alvi said, “Nowhere are these trends more pronounced than in our immediate neighbourhood, where response to COVID-19 has been not only been discriminatory but also specifically targeting Muslims.
“The spread of the virus has been widely dubbed ‘Corona Jihad’ by supporters of a far-right government, amid claims that the pandemic is a conspiracy by Muslims to infect people from other religions. This hate-mongering is part of ideological dispensation and anti-minority agenda, that has taken deep roots in our neighbourhood,” he added.
Meanwhile, the president said, the people of Kashmir in South Asian region, who had been under occupation since 1947, had now been made to suffer under a political lockdown since August 2019.
“The situation has become even more aggravated in the wake of the pandemic, where the Kashmiris continue to be denied high-speed Internet access to the world and face restrictions in terms of medical and other supplies,” he added.
The president said the Kashmiri political leaders and a vast majority of its youth were languishing in crowded jails, making them vulnerable to the pandemic.
“It is unfortunate that while the world’s attention has been focussed on fighting COVID-19, opportunistic moves were made to alter the demographic structure of the occupied territory, in complete violation of international law and relevant UNSC resolutions,” he added.
The president said despite the United Nations Secretary General’s appeal to avoid war and war like situations during the pandemic, Pakistan had suffered cross LoC (Line of Control) heavy shelling resulting in many civilian deaths.
“This unprecedented crisis can and must be transformed into opportunity to create a more equitable world economy that can enable developing countries to make progress towards Sustainable Development Goals and ensuring that in an inter-connected, inter-dependent and increasingly globalized world, our policies and responses to such crisis, leaves no one behind,” he added.
President Alvi said the conference must resolve that:
“1. All skirmishes, war like situations must be ceased so that countries can focus.
2. Our efforts to handle COVID-19 should stay clear of politicisation and pursuit of narrow agenda.
3. There should be an urgent Global Initiative on Debt Relief.
4. There should be strong efforts by governments to discourage intolerance & discrimination, incitement to hatred etc because of COVID-19 and to provide equal health access to all people.
5. A major effort particularly focused towards the poorest in the world for their relief, and revival of economies at the earliest so that livelihoods may be restored.”
