The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, expressed deep revulsion at the attack on a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan.
The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, expressed deep revulsion at the attack on a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan, and the murder of Bilal Anwar Kasi, President of the Balochistan Bar Association, with whose death the outrage appeared to be associated.
Secretary-General Scotland said “This despicable attack deliberately targeting a hospital and those who work to uphold the rule of law strikes at the very foundations on which our Commonwealth approaches to inclusive and safe societies are built. In their violent and indiscriminate disregard for human dignity those who commit these dreadful crimes perpetrate an affront to the entire Commonwealth, of which Pakistan is a founding member, and the civilised values of the Commonwealth Charter to which all our member states are committed”.
Reaffirming the solidarity of the people of the Commonwealth with the people of Pakistan, the Secretary-General said: “Words cannot express the depth of sympathy we feel for all who are affected by these attacks. In offering our condolences to all who have been bereaved, and holding in our thoughts the memory of those who have lost their lives, we recommit ourselves to collective action that will defeat the forces of evil, and to working in a spirit of goodwill to build safe and stable societies. Our hearts go out to those wounded and traumatised in mind or body directly or indirectly as a result of what has happened, and all in the emergency and support services who are having to deal with the shocking aftermath.”
