President Arif Alvi discusses Kashmir unrest with French envoy
- By Web Desk -
- Dec 13, 2019
ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi on Friday said that occupied Kashmir was under complete lock-down, where all civic liberties of the Kashmiri people have been suspended.
“Kashmiris are being subjected to brutal molestation, lynching and imprisonment,” Alvi apprised French ambassador who called on him at president house in Islamabad.
On India’s controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act bill, the President termed it a defacement of the proclaimed Indian secularism which had put minorities, especially Muslims, at a serious risk.
He hoped that France would play its rightful role in alleviating the suffering of the Kashmiri people by urging India to stop human rights violations in Kashmir.
He further said that Pakistan wants to strengthen economic cooperation with France, both at bilateral level and in the context of European Union. The President highlighted that 100,000 strong Pakistani diaspora in France was a bridge to promote people-to-people contacts.
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He also highlighted Pakistan’s huge tourism potential with rich culture, which he said must be tapped by the French people. On the Kashmir issue, the Ambassador said France had a clear policy that human rights must be protected at all costs.
He also said that climate change is a serious global issue and in this regard, France was offering special scholarships.