FM Qureshi apprises German counterpart of worsening situation in Iran

Last updated on: 21 March,2020 11:49 pm

Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that a joint international effort is needed to overcome the coronavirus

Islamabad (Dunya News) - Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi called his German counterpart Heiko Maas and expressed his condolences over the human and financial losses caused by the coronavirus in Germany and laid out Pakistani measures to control the spread of the virus even with its limited resources.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the coronavirus has become a huge challenge for the whole world and a joint international effort is needed to overcome this problem.

During the telephonic conversation, the Foreign Minister apprised the German counterpart of the bleak situation in occupied Kashmir in context of the global outbreak and said that the curfew, human rights violations have continued in occupied Kashmir for 8 months. Due to the long curfew imposed in Kashmir by India, there is a severe food and medicinal shortage in the occupied territory.

He further said that international sanctions should be lifted off Iran in view of the country’s worsening situation so that it can have a fighting chance against the virus.

The Foreign Minister further said that in the global context, developing countries like Pakistan should be given relief in debt payments.

The German Foreign Minister informed of the situation in Germany saying that more than 20,000 people have been affected by virus in Germany out of which 68 have died.

Heiko also echoed FM Qureshi’s concerns about Iran and said that the matter of lifting Iranian sanctions and debt relief for developing countries will be raised at the G-7 Foreign Ministers Conference. Both ministers also decided to continue bilateral consultations on the situation.

Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan had said that he would urge the international community to lift economic sanctions off Iran after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani wrote to world leaders highlighting the effects of sanctions on Iran’s fight against the pandemic. PM Imran said that it is a great injustice that Tehran has to suffer through the pandemic while facing international sanctions.

In his letter, Hassan Rouhani called on other countries to stop observing US sanctions against his country.

Foreign Minister Jawad Zarif also wrote a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres demanding that US sanctions be lifted.

In addition to that, Iran s Ambassador to Pakistan Syed Mohammad Ali Hosseini also wrote a letter to National Assembly opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif in which he appealed for his help in lifting of sanctions.