KL News Network

Srinagar

National flag of Pakistan.
National flag of Pakistan.

The Pakistan Ministry of Commerce has issued letters to trade officers in more than 50 countries to sensitize the host business communities about “human rights violations” in Kashmir, Dawn reported.

The ministry, according to the report, has issued the letters on the instruction of the cabinet division. The new guidelines instruct that multinational corporations working in India should also be sensitised about the “non-democratic and oppressive policies” of the Indian government.

Quoting a source, the report said Pakistan has already taken a similar stand in the case of apartheid (South Africa) and occupied territories (e.g Palestine). The West has promoted issues such as ‘blood diamond’ and ‘conflict cotton’ to highlight and restrict the sale of products from war-torn regions.

“A trade officer said there was a need to use the appropriate optics when promoting issues internationally. The “atrocities” being committed in Indian-held Kashmir needed to be exhibited in a similar vein so that they were easily contextualised and absorbed by the business community,” the report said.

The trade officers have also been asked to report the progress in this regard to the commerce ministry.

A trade officer insisted that it was the responsibility of the foreign office to handle political issues abroad, including Kashmir.

The Pakistan Ministry of Commerce administers 51 trade offices in 36 countries abroad with an annual budgetary outlay of Rs2bn.

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