Geneva: Amsterdam-based think-tank The European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) has hit out at Pakistan PM Imran Khan-led government and said the country is harboring terrorists in its territory.
Speaking at the 45th Session of UN Human Rights Council, Veronica Ekelund, Research Analyst at EFSAS, said Imran Khan and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi have several times confessed at international platforms that their country shelters terrorists.
Targeting Imran Khan, she said: "In July 2019, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan told the US Institute of Peace in Washington that his country hosts 40,000 terrorists. In June 2020, Prime Minister Imran Khan referred to Al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden as a 'Martyr' in the country's Parliament."
"Pakistani officials have time and again confessed the country continues to be a safe haven for terrorists and terrorist organizations," she said.
#BREAKING: Veronica Ekelund (Research Analyst European Foundation for South Asian Studies) during 45th Session of UNHRC, Asks: Why is Pakistan still a member of UN Human Rights Council? Lists admission by Imran Khan & Shah Mahmood Qureshi about presence of terrorists on Pak soil. pic.twitter.com/l81QQnREgo
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) September 24, 2020
Referring to the terror connections, she questioned Pakistan's membership in the UN Human Rights Council.
"The UN Security Council's consolidated list of terrorist individuals and entities includes 146 entries from Pakistan. With all due respect, I am compelled to ask. Why is Pakistan still a member of this august Council?", she asked.