KARACHI, Sep 06 (APP): Caretaker Federal Minister for Human Rights Khalil George, on Wednesday, reiterated his ministry’s commitment to protect the rights of religious minorities living in the country.
The federal Minister, at the launching ceremony of the second National Media Fellowship on Gender-Based Violence and Child Marriages here urged the media to raise incidents of human rights violations, assuring his ministry would take necessary action in that regard.
Khalil George stressed the need to report with responsibility and confirmation of the facts and figures before making news.
The minister paid glowing tribute to the martyrs of the Armed Forces of Pakistan on the occasion of Pakistan Defense Day and said that valiant sons of homeland make the entire nation proud by their remarkable courage and not only defended the country from the aggression of the enemy but blown out their installations in the territory of the enemy.
Khalil George while responding to questions about elections said that the caretaker government was endowed with the responsibility of making arrangements for the conduct of elections but it was the constitutional mandate of the Election Commission of Pakistan to announce the dates for general elections in the country and ensure free, fair and transparent polls.
He further said that it was witnessed in the past that every party that returned successfully in the elections termed it ‘free and fair’ while the unsuccessful candidates made allegations of rigging.
On a query about the Jaranwala incident, the minister said that 200 miscreants were found involved in the incident and 128 of them were nabbed on the very first day.
The government was determined to take all the miscreants involved in the heinous crime to task, he vowed and said that when a few extremists set ablaze the houses of the Christian community in Jaranwala there were hundreds of Muslims there to help out the victims.
It demonstrates the exemplary relationship between majority and minority communities of Pakistan, he observed and said that Pakistan is our motherland where minority communities enjoy equal rights and such incidents conspired by the extremist elements to sow the seeds of divide and hatred could not achieve their wicked objectives.
On the other side of the border, in India, he said serious violations of human rights and heinous crimes against minorities were taking place and people belonging to minority communities including Muslims and Christians were being ruthlessly killed and vehemently tortured and the government did not take any action against the culprits.
On a question on human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, he said that Kashmir was termed as the jugular vein of Pakistan by the founder of the nation Quaid Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the government of Pakistan had and will always keep supporting people of Kashmir and their demand for right of self-determination at every forum.
In the current caretaker setup, Mishal Malik- the wife of Kashmiri Leader Yaseen Malik- was included in the caretaker cabinet as special assistant to the Prime Minister on Human Rights to express our resolve with the just and fair cause of Kashmiri People, he stated.
