Stance on Kashmir, Palestine ‘unchanged’

Qureshi explains Pakistan’s position on India becoming UNSC non-permanent member

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday clarified in the National Assembly that neither Pakistan has changed nor deviated from its “historical stance” on the issue of Palestine and Kashmir”.

The foreign minister, while speaking on the floor of the house during the general debate on the budget 2020-21, reiterated that Pakistan “has not changed its stance on the issue of Palestine” as it was the same stance that was adopted by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) governments.

Explaining Pakistan’s official stance of the Palestine-Israel issue, the foreign minister said “Pakistan consistently supports a two-state solution”, adding that Islamabad wants to see “the pre-1967 Palestinian borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital”.

Responding to the opposition’s claim that the government might change its policy regarding Palestine under the influence of some Arab countries, the foreign minister categorically denied any such assumption, saying the policy was not being reviewed by any means. “You should not have any ambiguity on this stance,” he said.

Explaining a statement attributed to him wherein he expressed that no heaven would fall if India becomes a member of the UN Security Council (UNSC), Qureshi said he did not say any such thing because the issue of India becoming a permanent member of the UNSC “is not even an agenda item for the upcoming meeting on June 17”.

He further explained that reforms that were needed to pave the way for India to become a permanent member have not taken place at all: that stage did not come at all.

“Pakistan is a member of the UFC group – Unification for Consensus – which has not favoured any such move.”

“There is no question of [India’s] permanent membership,” Qureshi said, adding that non-permanent members keep occupying seats in the Security Council on rotation.

“Pakistan and India have been non-permanent members of the Security Council on seven occasions each since independence,” he informed the lower house of parliament.

“Now, India is trying again to become a non-permanent member of the Security Council and that it will become because they had decided it back in 2011,” Qureshi added.

He said Pakistan has also decided to become a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the eighth time in 2025-26. “Islamabad is campaigning for that as well and voting on it would take place in 2024,” he said and added, “There is no question of permanent membership.”

On the Kashmir issue, Qureshi reiterated that Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir was the same as it was before because there is national as well as parties’ consensus on it and parliament demonstrated unity twice by adopting joint resolutions in this regard.

Since we have complete consensus on Kashmir and since it is a sensitive issue,” Qureshi said, he has decided to constitute a political committee and, subsequently, invited the PML-N, the PPP, the JUI-F, and the ANP to name their representatives.

“India’s August 5 measures are illegal, against the UN Charter and International law,” Qureshi said, adding that for a way forward on that, the incumbent government wants to have national as well as parliamentary consensus on the issue of Kashmir.

In his speech during the NA session, Qureshi said that “some issues are sacrosanct and they are above partisan interests. National interest is paramount and Kashmir is one of those issues. Palestinian issue is one of those issues. UN reform is one of those issues”.

He further said: “I want to reassure the august house, the parliamentary leader of PML-N that you have nothing to worry. All these attributed statements are baseless; we are one and Inshallah on these issues we will remain one.”

NA Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri reiterated that would never deviate from its ideological stance on Palestine. Following Qureshi’s speech, PML-N leader Khawaja Asif thanked Qureshi for explaining the issues with clarity and avoiding unambiguous answers.