FM condoles with Indonesian govt, people over loss of lives in Covid-19 outbreak

ISLAMABAD, Apr 3 (APP):Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday held a telephonic conversation with his Indonesian counterpart Ms Retno L P Marsudi, and offered deep condolences to the Indonesian government and people over the loss of precious lives in the outbreak of Covid-19.
Discussing the matters related to the Covid-19 pandemic, the foreign minister apprised her of the situation in Pakistan and commended Indonesia for the steps being taken by the authorities to contain the virus.
Qureshi said like Indonesia, Pakistan was attempting to strike a balance between the need to arrest transmission of the disease through social distancing and other measures, and keeping the wheels of the economy moving.
He highlighted the call given by Prime Minister Imran Khan for debt relief and restructuring for the developing countries to create the fiscal space needed to save human lives and shore up economies. The initiative, he said, had been resonated globally, as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, the European Union, and the G-20 were working along those lines.
The foreign minister apprised his Indonesian counterpart of the developments in the Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir, where despite reporting of Covid-19 cases as well as deaths, restrictions on movement and communication remained in place. He stressed the need to call on India to lift communication restrictions to enable dissemination of information, and to ensure unfettered supply of medicines and other essentials.
Qureshi pointed out the heightened risk of contracting the virus in crowded Indian prisons and called for release of the Kashmiri leadership, youth and civil society members incarcerated by India there.
He briefed the Indonesian foreign minister on the latest actions by India aimed at illegally changing the demographic structure of the IOJ&K, including the recent changes in domicile laws. The steps, he said, were in violation of international law and must be stopped.
The two sides also discussed the prospects of collaborating on combating Covid-19 on the platforms of Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the United Nations. They agreed to remain closely engaged.