ISLAMABAD: Federal Human Rights Minister Riaz Pirzada on Thursday clarified the statement he issued on Sunday that some people deprived of human rights were engaged by India, stating that what he meant was significantly different to what was perceived.
Clarifying his remarks Pirzada said he meant to say that the human rights ministry should not be expected to address human rights issues.
“It is not really the job of the human rights ministry to address human rights. The ministry’s jurisdiction is limited to the pretense that it will, or can, address human rights,” the minister said while talking to The Dependent.
“However, it is important to clarify here that the human rights that cannot be addressed by the human rights ministry of Pakistan are limited to Pakistan. The ministry is perfectly capable of addressing human rights elsewhere in the world, especially when it comes to Muslim human rights,” he added.
Riaz Pirzada reiterated that the connection attributed to India in his original remark was misconstrued because the primary job of the human rights ministry of Pakistan is to safeguard human rights in India.
“People linked my statement on links with India to India because that is the country which my JD asks me to focus on,” the minister said.
“Unfortunately, that does not mean that I can abuse my powers and start focusing on issues beyond my job description, such as human rights in Pakistan, including the right to exist.”
