Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Sunday requested all chief ministers of the provinces and heads of the Azad Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan governments to grant permission for self-quarantine to the Pakistanis who are coming back to the country from abroad.

Qureshi said this while addressing a news conference in Multan along with head and members of recently formed National Minorities Commission. “Temples and churches are safe in Pakistan while minorities in India are being ill-treated,” he said.

He said self-quarantine permission should be given so large number of expatriate Pakistanis flying back home. “All the CMs must allow this facility in the Monday’s National Coordination Committee (NCC) meeting,” he said.

While commenting on the National Minorities Commission, Qureshi said minorities in Pakistan are free and enjoying equal rights. The objective of NMC was to give a gesture that Muslim majority in the country was a guardian of the minorities’ right, he added.

The commission has representation from Sikh, Parsi, Christians, Hindus and Kalash communities.

Ladakh situation

Foreign Minister Qureshi while giving remarks on the recently emerged face-off situation between China and India, said India started illegal construction in Ladakh as part of her 2022 plan to build roads and other projects despite knowing that Ladakh was a controversial area. “China has serious reservations and India was exposed in Ladakh.”

CPEC

Qureshi said that whether India or any other country likes it or not, China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a flagship project of Pakistan and China and is completely safe and all Pakistani political parties have consensus on it.