Pakistan will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) heads of governments meeting in October, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch announced on Thursday, adding the two-day meeting would take place Oct. 15-16.
“Pakistan holds the rotating chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of Government, which is the SCO’s second-highest decision-making forum. In this capacity, Pakistan will be hosting the SCO Heads of Governments Meeting in October this year,” she told a weekly press briefing. Prior to the meeting, she said, a ministerial-level meeting and several rounds of senior officials’ meetings focusing on financial, economic, socio-cultural, and humanitarian cooperation among the SCO member states would be held.
To a question, Baloch said Pakistan would invite all heads of governments of SCO member states to attend the summit, stressing it would be held in person. “We hope and expect that all members of SCO will be represented at the Heads of Government meeting being held in October,” she added.
U.N. body report
During her briefing, the spokesperson rejected a report issued by a body of the U.N. Human Rights Council seeking the release of PTI founder Imran Khan. Describing it as “unwarranted” and based on an incomplete understanding of the country’s legal system, she said she would not go into the motives behind the report. “However, I would like to underline that a report on any particular case is unwarranted when it lacks objectivity and is based on incomplete and inaccurate understanding of Pakistan’s legal and judicial system,” she added.
The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s report claimed Khan’s detention lacked legal basis and was aimed at securing a political purpose. It called for his immediate release and urged reforms to ensure compliance with international human rights standards.
Emphasizing that Pakistan’s Constitution guarantees the rights and freedoms of all its citizens, Baloch said that as a “vibrant” democracy, the country had “robust institutions” in place to dispense justice and uphold the rule of law.
Defending Pakistan’s legal system, she noted anyone facing legal proceedings had several avenues to seek justice and redress of any grievances. “The courts of Pakistan adjudicate questions of law as per Pakistani laws and they will determine the innocence or otherwise of any individual under trial,” she added.
The spokesperson also addressed a recent International Religious Freedom report issued by the U.S. State Department, lamenting that unilateral reports assessing other countries’ human rights situations were not free of political bias and presented an incomplete and distorted picture.
The methodology adopted in preparing these reports and the mandate and expertise of its authors are not transparent, she regretted. “It is unfortunate that the report refers to certain incidents in Pakistan last year without highlighting the strong political will shown by the government to hold the perpetrators accountable as well as the remedial efforts undertaken and the legal and administrative protections in place for religious minorities,” she said.
Education for Palestinian students
The spokesperson said the Pakistani government had allowed medical students from Gaza to complete their medical education in Pakistan. She said the decision was on the direction of Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) and would enable students from Gaza to continue their medical education in Pakistan on humanitarian grounds. She claimed Palestinian students in batches of 20-30 would soon join medical colleges in Pakistan.