PM Imran to address UNGA session on Friday

Address to focus on rights violations in Kashmir, stability in Afghanistan and Islamophobia

LAHORE:

Prime Minister Imran Khan will address the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday via video link.

During his address, the prime minister will focus on key global and political challenges faced by the international community, especially the Afghanistan crisis.

“Pakistan will draw world’s attention to the human rights violations in Indian occupied Kashmir, the imperative to stabilise Afghanistan, and the need to combat Islamophobia,” the APP quoted Pakistan’s UN representative, Munir Akram, as saying.

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The PM will also stress the need to counter the disinformation being propagated by India and to address the economic challenges confronting developing countries amid the pandemic, he added.

Qureshi leaves for New York

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi along with his delegation has departed for New York to take part in the UNGA session. The FM will meet his counterparts, senior UN officials and other dignitaries on the sidelines of the session.

He will also attend and speak at various forums in New York, including the Council on Foreign Relations.

The foreign minister will also meet the Pakistani-American community during the visit. Qureshi will also interact with journalists to convey Pakistan’s views on various regional and global issues.

76th UNGA session

Afghanistan, climate change and the coronavirus crises will dominate discussions at the UNGA. Despite the US' request that member states send pre-recorded messages to curb the spread of the coronavirus, 83 heads of state, 43 prime ministers, three deputy prime ministers and 23 foreign ministers are scheduled to address the General Assembly in person.

This year’s theme is: “Building resilience through hope – to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainability, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalise the United Nations”.

The coronavirus pandemic has slowed in-person diplomacy at the United Nations, but vaccines have made it safer to hold a smaller gathering - although the rampant spread of the delta variant left decisions for many world leaders about coming until the last minute.

US President Joe Biden, King Abdullah of Jordan and the presidents of Turkey, Brazil, Venezuela and Palestine as well as prime ministers of the United Kingdom, Japan and India will be among leaders present at the UN headquarters to deliver their country’s speech.

There will be no shortage of political and humanitarian problems to discuss.

Conflict and famine in Ethiopia and a military coup in Myanmar were already in the international spotlight this year. Millions of Yemenis are near starving. The war in Syria has dragged on for more than a decade and neighbouring Lebanon is plunging into an economic abyss.

Read more UN seeks $600 million to avert Afghanistan humanitarian crisis

Haiti was rocked by an earthquake one month ago just weeks after its president was assassinated. Earlier this month, Guinea’s military staged a coup and jailed the president. And not to be ignored, North Korea has resumed test-firing ballistic missiles.

But in recent weeks, the situation in Afghanistan has seized international attention as the government collapsed, the Taliban swept into power in Kabul, and the United States military departed the country ending its 20-year military presence.

Now the United Nations finds itself in a challenging situation, trying to assist nearly 18 million Afghans who are in dire need of assistance after years of conflict, drought and now Covid-19.

The concern with which wealthy countries view the situation was evident on Monday when they pledged more than $1.2 billion to provide humanitarian and regional assistance to try to prevent a new refugee crisis.

Diplomats say nations need to coordinate a united approach to how they will deal with the Taliban going forward.