ISLAMABAD, APR 8 (DNA) – Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi held a telephone conversation today with the Foreign Minister of Malaysia, Hishamuddin Hussein, on the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Foreign Minister felicitated Foreign Minister Hussain on his recent appointment to the important position, and offered condolences for the loss of innocent lives in the pandemic. The Foreign Minister also thanked the Malaysian Foreign Minister for looking after Pakistani nationals based in Malaysia, as well as facilitating Pakistanis at the airports.

Underscoring that Pakistan’s and Malaysia’s infection rates and fatalities were similar, the Foreign Minister commended the measures adopted by the Malaysian authorities to contain the epidemic, and apprised his Malaysian counterpart of the steps being taken by Pakistan.

Foreign Minister Qureshi briefed the Malaysian Foreign Minister about Prime Minister Imran Khan’s initiative for debt relief and restructuring to enable developing countries to save human lives and support economies.

The Foreign Minister highlighted developments in Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir, where, taking advantage of world preoccupation with the pandemic, the BJP government had amended domicile rules in a bid to change the disputed region’s demography. In view of the pandemic emergency, the Foreign Minister called for removal of all restrictions on movement and communication, ensuring unfettered supply of medicines and other essentials as well as release of all political prisoners.=DNA

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