'No peace until liberation of Kashmir'

Pakistan's acting ambassador at UN says TTP using Afghan soil to destabilise Pakistan

NEW YORK:

Acting Pakistan's Ambassador to the UN Usman Jadoon has said lasting international peace and stability will remain elusive until the people under foreign occupation, like those in Kashmir and Palestine, are allowed to exercise their right to self-determination.

"The right to self-determination is one of the fundamental pillars of the UN Charter," Jadoon said at his meeting with a 23-member delegation from the US War College at the Pakistan Mission in New York.

The ambassador informed the delegation members about Pakistan's stance on various regional and international issues, highlighting the decades-old Kashmir dispute and efforts to seek its resolution peacefully.

He said the UN Security Council resolutions, which calls for a UN-supervised plebiscite to decide the wishes of the Kashmiri people, provide the framework for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

While highlighting Pakistan's sacrifices for combating terrorism, he said Afghanistan has become a hub where the outlawed TTP is using the Afghan soil to consistently target Pakistan.

"There are valid concerns about the TTP forming an alliance with other terrorist outfits, principally Al-Qaeda, with its implications for regional peace and security," he added.

Pakistan, he said, shared the expectations of the international community about political inclusivity, and provision of educational and employment opportunities to women in Afghanistan, while underscoring that equal attention needed to be paid to the counter-terrorism aspect as well.

Jadoon said developing countries are making efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals, and fight the adverse aspects of climate change if given access to global concessional finance.

He said mounting debt liabilities, and increase in fuel and commodity prices have created formidable challenges for the economies of developing countries.

"Pakistan has been advocating the reform of international financial architecture in a manner that is equitable and fair and helps the Global South overcome development deficits," he said.

On United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reform, Ambassador Jadoon said that Pakistan, as part of the Uniting for Consensus (UfC) group, opposes granting permanent UNSC membership to any country as it will only increase the body's "paralysis".

Pakistan, he said, advocates increase in the non-permanent members to make the 15-member body more effective, representative and accountable.

The briefing was followed by a question and answer session during which the visitors asked about the Jammu and Kashmir dispute; India-Pakistan bilateral relations; Ukraine and Gaza wars; climate threat; counter-terrorism, and Pakistan's priorities as a non-permanent member of the UNSC.