Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Thursday held a meeting with the President of the UN General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir, at the United Nations headquarters in New York today.

He thanked the President for his proactive leadership in convening the UN General Assembly Session to discuss the situation in Palestine, according to a Pakistan Mission press release.

He expressed the hope that the session will send a strong message to other organs of the UN, particularly the UN Security Council, to fulfill its primary responsibility towards maintenance of international peace and security.

He said that the entire Pakistani nation was outraged over Israel’s use of indiscriminate and disproportionate force against innocent Palestinians, and reiterated Pakistan calls for an immediate ceasefire, and to ensure Israel’s full compliance with international humanitarian and human rights laws.

The Foreign Minister also briefed the President of the UN General Assembly on the deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJ&K), including continued extra-judicial killings as well as incarceration of Kashmiri political leaders.

He expressed Pakistan’s deep concern at the death of prominent Kashmiri leader and Chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir, Ashraf Sehrai in Indian custody, calling for independent and impartial investigations into human rights violations in IIOJ&K. He also called for the resolution of the festering dispute of Jammu & Kashmir for lasting peace in South Asia.

Foreign Minister called for a strong international response to Covid-19 based on solidarity and cooperation, recalling in this regard Prime Minister Imran Khan’s proposed plan of action for recovery from pandemic.