PHOTO: PID
Pakistan on Friday called upon the UN Security Council for a comprehensive strategy to defeat the Islamic State (IS) as it poses a growing threat.
"A comprehensive strategy is needed -- military, political, economic and social -- to defeat the Islamic State's movement, motivated by an ideology of hate and gruesome violence," Pakistan's Ambassador to UN Maleeha Lodhi said.
Participating in a 15-member Security Council debate on the Middle East, Lodhi pointed out that the IS which controls large parts of Iraq and Syria posed a growing threat to security across the Middle East, North Africa and beyond.
“IS poses a spreading threat to security across the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. A military-only approach is neither sufficient nor permanent in its impact.”
Read: Emerging threat: US seeks Pakistan’s help to counter IS
Further, Lodhi urged the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution outlining timelines and parameters for establishing an independent state of Palestine.
The Pakistani envoy said that Pakistan believes that the path to sustainable peace in the Middle East lies only in the two-state solution and an end to Israeli occupation of all Arab lands.
Blaming Israel for perpetuation of the crises, she said, “The inflexible and indefensible posture taken by the hardline Israeli government has frozen any prospect for the resumption of the peace process and a political resolution”.
Ambassador Lodhi referred to the report of the independent commission of inquiry established by the Human Rights Council on the Gaza conflict, which she termed as an an eye opener. “It establishes that “security concerns” cannot relieve Israel of its obligations under international law,” she added.
The envoy also welcomed the Iran nuclear deal and added that if it was fully and sincerely implemented it could contribute to nuclear non-proliferation as well as regional stability, cooperation and economic growth.
“The landmark agreement reached with Iran, which if fully and sincerely implemented, could not only contribute to nuclear non-proliferation but also regional stability, cooperation and economic growth," she said.
The ambassador added that "It could open the way for closer consultations and even agreement on how to address pressing regional challenges."
On Thursday, deputy chief of a US Senate panel called for continued cooperation between Islamabad and Washington to neutralise any threat that the IS poses to the region.
Dianne Feinstein, vice chairperson of the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, made the comment during her meeting with Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi at Capitol Hill, Washington on Thursday, said a statement issued by the Foreign Office. Feinstein stressed the need for close cooperation between Islamabad and Washington to combat the rise of IS militancy.
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