World has ‘failed’ to address state terrorism

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to United Nations Ambassador Munir Akram described India’s brutal oppression of the Kashmiri people as the “worst example of state terrorism” telling a General Assembly panel on Monday that the global counter-terrorism efforts had failed to address this issue.

“Terrorism must be defeated comprehensively, everywhere,” Ambassador Akram told the UN General Assembly’s Sixth (Legal) Committee, during a debate on the secretary general’s report on measures to eliminate international terrorism.

Pakistan, he said, strongly condemned terrorism, including state terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations regardless of the motivation, while highlighting Islamabad’s role in the fight against the scourge.

“The global counter-terrorism policies have failed to address state terrorism,” the envoy said, adding: “The worst example of state terrorism is the brutal oppression of the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) to deny their recognised right to self-determination.”

Akram underscored the need for addressing not only the symptoms but also the underlying causes of terrorism. “These include unresolved conflicts, foreign occupation and denial of the right to self-determination such as in Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine,” he added.

“India’s state terrorism has intensified since August 5, 2019 when it took unilateral and illegal measures to impose what it calls a “Final Solution” to Jammu and Kashmir dispute, the Pakistani envoy said.