Maiden UN address: Stop fuelling terror in Pakistan, PM tells India

On Afghanistan, Abbasi says Pakistan not prepared to be anyone’s scapegoat

NEW YORK: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi asked India to call off its campaign of arming and bankrolling agents of terrorism and chaos in Pakistan as he renewed offer for dialogue with New Delhi on all thorny issues, especially over the core dispute of Kashmir.

In his maiden address to the UN General Assembly late on Thursday, Abbasi gave a wide-ranging speech, in which he spoke about an array of global as well as domestic issues, such as the Middle East situation, UN reforms, climate change and Pakistan’s economic stability and consolidation of democracy.

The premier renewed Pakistan’s offer for dialogue with India on all thorny issues. “Pakistan remains open to resuming a comprehensive dialogue with India to address all outstanding issues, especially Kashmir, and discuss measures to maintain peace and security,” he said.



“This dialogue must be accompanied by an end to India’s campaign of subversion and state-sponsored terrorism against Pakistan, including from across our western border,” he told the world leaders attending the 72nd General Assembly session at the UN.

He called for expeditious steps towards implementation of UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir with the appointment of a special envoy to promote a just and peaceful settlement of the festering dispute and “to prevent the situation from a dangerous escalation”.

Voicing concern over the unabated persecution of the Kashmiris, the prime minister said India used massive and indiscriminate force to suppress the unarmed protesters, shooting indiscriminately at children, women and youth.

“Hundreds of innocent Kashmiris had been killed or injured,” he said. “Shotgun pellets have blinded and maimed thousands of Kashmiris, including children. These and other brutalities clearly constitute war crimes and violate the Geneva conventions”.



Abbasi urged the international community to call on India to halt pellet gun attacks and other violence against demonstrators; stop the use of rape as an instrument of state policy; end media blackouts; rescind its draconian emergency laws; and free all Kashmiri political leaders.

The premier also informed the UNGA about Indian violations of the ceasefire along the Line of Control to divert the world’s attention from its brutalities in held Kashmir. Despite over 600 violations since January this year Pakistan has acted with restraint, he said.

“But if India does venture across the LoC, or acts upon its doctrine of ‘limited’ war against Pakistan, it will evoke a strong and matching response,” he warned. “The international community must act decisively to prevent the situation from a dangerous escalation.”

“As India is unwilling to resume the peace process with Pakistan, we call on the Security Council to fulfill its obligation to secure the implementation of its own resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir,” he said. “To this end, the UN secretary general should appoint a special envoy on Kashmir. His mandate should flow from the longstanding but unimplemented resolutions of the Security Council.”



Afghan war

Spelling out Pakistan’s stance in clear terms, Abbasi said his country was not prepared to fight the Afghan war on its soil. “Nor can we endorse any failed strategy that will prolong and intensify the suffering of the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and other regional countries,” he added.

“It is especially galling for Pakistan to be blamed for the military or political stalemate in Afghanistan,” he said. “We are not prepared to be anyone’s scapegoat. Taliban ‘safe havens’ are located not in Pakistan but in the large tracts of territory controlled by the Taliban in Afghanistan.”

He said cross-border attacks were mostly conducted by anti-Pakistan terrorists from the “safe havens” across the border. “To end all cross-border attacks we ask the Afghan government and the coalition to support and complement Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to strengthen border controls and monitor all movement across it.”

Prime Minister Abbasi said after 16 years of war in Afghanistan, it was clear that peace would not be restored by the continuing resort to military force. “Neither Kabul and the coalition, nor the Afghan Taliban, can impose a military solution on each other.”



He called for ‘urgent and realistic goals in Afghanistan’, which should include concerted action to eliminate the presence in Afghanistan of Da’ish, al Qaeda and their affiliates, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Jamaatul Ahrar.

He also suggested promotion of negotiations between Kabul and the Afghan Taliban -- in the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) or any trilateral format -- to evolve a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan.

CPEC

Abbasi said Pakistan’s economy has recorded a remarkable revival in the past four years and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) would further contribute to economic upsurge.

“Pakistan’s integration into the Eurasian Belt and Road network will provide a firm foundation for Pakistan’s rapid economic development,” he said, adding that an economic strategy anchored on rising incomes, consumption and production will propel Pakistan towards greater prosperity.

He said Pakistan had developed its nuclear weapons only when those were introduced in the region by its neighbour. “Our strategic assets are vital to deter oft-threatened aggression. They are tightly and effectively controlled, as has been widely acknowledged by experts,” the premier said.

He said the world community would be well served by enabling Pakistan to join global non-proliferation arrangements, such as the Nuclear Suppliers Group on a non-discriminatory basis.

Another Cold War

The prime minister said the renewed East-West tensions might engulf Europe in another Cold War, while peace and prosperity in Asia was threatened by emerging friction among big powers and rising tensions in South, East and West Asia.

He said the Middle East was wrecked by war and violence -- in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere. Terrorist violence has intensified across the Middle East and Africa and other parts of the world, he added. He pointed out that Israel’s prolonged occupation and expansion of illegal settlements might lead to renewed and wider violence in Palestine.

He said rising racism and religious hatred is erecting physical walls and psychological barriers between nations and peoples. “The ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas is not just an affront to all norms of humanity but also challenges our collective conscience,” he said.

 

With additional input from APP