Pakistan to invite Indian PM Modi to SCO Summit in October

Pakistan will invite Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit which Islamabad will host in October this year, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Speaking at her weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan will host SCO Heads of State summit in October.

When asked whether Indian prime minister will be extended an invitation, the FO spokesperson said as rotation chair of SCO Pakistan will invite leaders of all member states.

The Foreign Office also rejected as “unnecessary” a UN Working Group’s report labelling detention of PTI founder Imran Khan “arbitrary and a violation of international law”.

Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the UN Group’s report was against the facts. “Democracy is active in Pakistan,” she added.

On Monday last, a panel of UN experts has determined that the detention of former prime minister Imran Khan was arbitrary and a violation of international law, calling for him to be released "immediately".

In an opinion, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention raised concerns about multiple cases brought against Imran Khan since he was ousted in April 2022.

It found that his depravation of liberty was "arbitrary" and violated several international laws and norms.

Imran Khan's "detention had no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him from running for political office", the working group said. "Thus, from the outset, that prosecution was not grounded in law and was reportedly instrumentalised for a political purpose," it said in the opinion, which was dated March 25 and made public Monday.

The working group, made up of five independent experts whose opinions are not binding but carry reputational weight, called on Pakistan's government to "take the steps necessary to remedy the situation".

"The appropriate remedy would be to release Mr. Khan immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law," it added.

The experts also called on Pakistan's government to ensure "a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Mr. Khan, and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of his rights".

Responding to another question on Thursday, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch also described US State Department report on religious freedoms as “a negation of facts”.

The FO spokesperson said more than half of the report is incorrect and lacks research. “The reality is every individual in Pakistan enjoys religious freedom. They are spending their lives with full religious independence under Pakistani law and constitution.”