Pakistani parties condemn envoy’s abstention from UN vote on Syria

A child gathers wood in the besieged town of Douma, Eastern Ghouta, in Damascus, Syria on Mar. 9, 2018. (REUTERS)

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s parliamentary parties have condemned the country’s envoy to the Human Rights Council for abstaining from voting on a resolution against the killing of civilians and other human rights violations in Syria.
“Pakistan has committed a blunder by not supporting the resolution, and it must be investigated as to why our envoy abstained from voting,” Sen. Taj Haider of the Pakistan Peoples Party told Arab News.
The government should explain its position in Parliament as it is a matter of grave public concern, he said.
“By abstaining from the vote, we indirectly sent a message to the international community that Pakistan stands with the oppressor in Syria instead of the innocent people,” he added.
The resolution was adopted on March 5 by a vote of 29 in favor and four against. Fourteen countries, including Pakistan, abstained.
Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly on Friday, Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said the envoy’s abstention “is a matter of shame.”
He was responding to questions from Maulana Fazlur Rehman, head of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), a partner in the coalition government.
JUI-F National Assembly member Naeema Kishwar said her party demands that the government investigate the matter and present a detailed report in Parliament.
“We want Parliament to hold the envoy accountable for the blunder,” she told Arab News. “It’s a matter of shame for us that we didn’t vote in favor of a resolution that condemned violence against the Syrian people.”
She added: “We also want Parliament to pass a consensus resolution condemning atrocities against innocent Syrians.”
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf National Assembly member Dr. Shireen Mazari told Arab News: “Syria has become a battlefield where different Muslim countries have different positions, but we should be very clear in our stance that we condemn violence against innocent people in all its forms.”
Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan National Assembly member Ali Raza Abidi told Arab News that the matter “should be investigated if the diplomat stayed back because of any pressure or arrangement.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Dr. Mohammad Faisal said Pakistan supports a peaceful political solution to the Syrian crisis.
“We’re concerned at the humanitarian situation, and urge all sides to enable the provision of humanitarian and medical assistance to innocent men, women and children, and to take urgent measures for their safety and security,” he told Arab News.
Faisal refused to say if the ministry will investigate the envoy for abstaining from the vote. But Asif assured the National Assembly that he would provide an explanation for the abstention on Monday.