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Pakistan PM urges UN for early Afghan refugees' repatriation

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, June 7, IRNA -- Pakistan Prime Minister, Yusuf Raza Gilani has called upon the United Nations for urgent repatriation of 3.5 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

Talking to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ms. Navanthem Pillay, he said the repatriation would help Pakistan deal with terrorists because the cross-border movement of refugees made it difficult to distinguish between a tourist and a terrorist.

The UN High Commissioner promised to bring the issue to the notice of the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), adding that she would highlight its urgency to address it.

She appreciated `Zero Tolerance Policy' of the Prime Minister against terrorism and extremism, and added that political will would further make difference in the real sense by thwarting the tendencies detrimental to the social development.

Ms. Pillay said Pakistan is an important country of the international community that has considerable influence in the UN Security Council, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and other international fora.

The Prime Minister paid rich tributes to the leadership of Nelson Mandela as one of the greatest champions of human rights under whose leadership South Africa got rid of apartheid.

The UN Commissioner spoke highly of the amendments and the legislations enacted by the democratic government in empowering women, minorities and the poor segments of the society.

The establishment of an Independent Human Right Commission in the recent past is a major step forward to improve the human rights situation in the country, she added.

Ms Pillay expressed satisfaction with the democratic reforms in Pakistan and hoped that the state institutions would function keeping in view the trichotomy of power, thus leading to strengthening the democratic dispensation on a durable basis.

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Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 1020343