ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has reiterated that Pakistan is fully alive to its national and international responsibilities to preserve human rights. Pakistan stood resolute in upholding core values and fundamental rights pertaining to the equality of all human beings, peaceful co-existence, respect for diversity and difference, and protection against discrimination in any form, as ordained by the religion and obligated by the constitution, he said in a message on the eve of International Human Rights Day being observed across the globe on Sunday. The prime minister said it was Islam that for the first time incorporated human rights as an integral part of its code of law, thereby providing the necessary legal foundations for just and inclusive society. He said the International Human Rights Day was an occasion for the comity of nations to reaffirm its commitment to the protection of human rights and the promotion of human values across the globe in the true spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed by the United Nations in 1948. The prime minister said in conformity with their beliefs and commitments, the Pakistan government was under taking several initiatives, including multi-dimensional legal reforms and the establishment of institutional mechanisms that would ensure protection of human rights, especially in the case of marginalised and disadvantageous societal groups. An autonomous National Commission for Human Rights had been established and the Action Plan for Human Rights prioritised the rights of women, children, minorities and persons with disabilities, he added. The prime minister said he would also like to avail the opportunity to appreciate the efforts made by the office of the United Nations high commissioner for human rights for the protection of human rights around the world. “However, we must also understand that the apathetic denial and grim violations of even the very basic of human rights of Palestinians, Kashmiris and Rohingyas continue to call in question the collective conscience of the international community.” Published in Daily Times, December 10th 2017.