Narrative at UNGA
Pakistan has spelt out a clear and concise verbatim at the United Nations General Assembly. By stating that the world community must come forward to fight terrorism, Islamabad reminded that apart from non-state actors flourishing in the shadows, there is a real threat from Hindu extremism camouflaged under a political doctrine in India. Alluding to the state-sponsored terrorism in Canada on the part of extremist Hindutva agents, Pakistan’s Caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar called for huddling together to counter the disgusting mentality in vogue. His synopsis went on to point out that it’s time for the world body to unite against the root causes of terrorism which are poverty, injustice, foreign occupation and distinguishing genuine freedom struggles from terrorism.
Speaking at the 78th session of the UNGA, Kakar was apt as he narrated the geopolitical ordeals in his region, and transpired that until and unless there is perpetual peace in Afghanistan, and India comes forward to resolve the Kashmir dispute, there is little chance of geo-economics making inroads in an era of new multipolarity and alliances. The referral to the Russo-Ukrainian war, the immediate need for going back to the ruptured Black Sea ‘Grain Deal’, and cajoling resources for climate change and pandemics was never lost by Pakistan. The PM’s thrust that geopolitics is resurging when geo-economics should have attained primacy in inter-state relations must be read as a doctrine when the world is mired in a quagmire of uncertainty, amidst food and supply chain crisis.
The UN is at the crossroads of its very existence. New blocs such as BRICS and QUAD and a plethora of multilateralism have simply eroded the significance of the world body. Moreover, the inability of the UN to address flashpoints such as Palestine and Kashmir, and coordinate its resources for attaining SDGs and consecutive climate summit objectives is being seen as a failure. Pakistan has simply stated the obvious by stressing the need to revisit the fundamentals of inception i.e. uniting for peace.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 24th, 2023.
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