'Pakistan human rights record deteriorated drastically': Indian diplomat Pawan Badhe in Geneva

Geneva [Switzerland], January 30 (ANI): India on Monday took a jibe at Pakistan saying the human rights record in the country has deteriorated drastically, with minorities being subjected to persecution.
Speaking at Pakistan's Human Rights Record Review at UN Human Rights Council, Pawan Badhe, Counscellor at Permanent Mission of India in Geneva, said the Muslim minorities in Pakistan, including Shias, and Hazaras, have been subjected to violence and systemic persecution.
Pakistan's human rights record is examined for the fourth time by the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group. "People in regions such as Balochistan, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have continued to suffer political repression, persecution, and denial of their right," Badhe said.
He added that the targeting of human rights advocates, political activists, and journalists has been done by Pakistan using extrajudicial abductions, forced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and torture as weapons of state policy.
"India recommends Pakistan to end systemic persecution of minorities, misuse of blasphemy laws & forced convergence of minority community girls. Stop targeting political dissidents and legitimate political activities in Sindh, Balochistan, and Khabar Pakhtunkhwa," Badhe said in his address.
He also called for credible, verifiable, irreversible and sustained action against terrorism emanating from territories under its control.
The targeting of religious minorities has been continuing in Pakistan under blasphemy as a large number of innocent persons who have lost their lives, homes, and their terrorized families dispersed, according to media reports.
According to A Canada-based think-tank, the International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS), the mixing of state and religion in Pakistan has provided a dangerous cocktail for Pakistan's population and the blasphemy laws are taking their toll on the people of the country.
Abduction, forcible conversion to Islam, and marriage of Hindu girls, mostly minors, to Muslims continue unabated in various areas of Pakistan, particularly in Sindh without invoking any concern and attention of the administration, human rights organizations, mainstream media, and social media platforms in Pakistan.
Amid the persecution of minorities, rights experts have said Pakistan's legal system is in need of urgent reform to protect the safety and dignity of the minorities, including the Ahmadi community, local media reports said.
The Ahmadi community in Pakistan lives as second-class citizens, say reports, adding that the anti-Ahmadi Muslim sentiment is powerful in Pakistan. It is amongst one of the most persecuted minority communities in the country. (ANI)