ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Maleeha Lodhi warned the international community at the UN that denial of asylum to Muslim refugees by some countries was legally, politically and morally unjustified.”The moral compass of those who refuse refugees of any faith must be questioned,” she said according to an official statement released by Pakistan mission to the UN in New York City.

Speaking in a debate at the UN General Assembly on the global refugee crises, the envoy said that fear was being fanned by some to accentuate discrimination, blunt humanitarianism, and spread hate and Islamophobia.

She described the refugee crisis “as one of the defining humanitarian and political issues of our times”, adding that how the issue is addressed will influence political and social trends for decades to come – either bridging or dividing cultures and civilisations.

The ambassador said it was time to acknowledge that the interlocking crises and conflicts raging across the Middle East and Africa have been precipitated by “misguided military interventions in the internal affairs of several regional states”.