National News

Statement by
Muhammad Nawaz Sharif,
Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,
at the General Debate of the 71st Session
of the UN General Assembly
21 September 2016
Mr. President,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
We
congratulate Mr. Peter Thomson on his election as President of the 71st Session of the
General Assembly. We agree that implementation of the Sustainable Development Agenda
should be the focus of this Session.
We also pay tribute to Mr. Mogens Lykketoft f
or his capable stewardship of the 70th Session.
Mr. President,
Today, three decades after the end of the Cold War, our multipolar world is more free and
vibrant, yet still chaotic and turbulent; more interdependent, but more unequal; more prosperous,
yet
still afflicted with poverty.
We see spectacular progress, but also unprecedented human suffering.
The world is at a historic inflection point.
The international order established after the Second World War is passing away, but a new order
has yet to e
merge.
Competition between the major powers is becoming more confrontational.
This can pose serious threats to peace across Asia.
A new Cold War threatens to engulf Europe. The momentum there towards “greater union” has
already reversed. Barricades and wa
lls are going up, especially against the tide of misery flowing
out of a turbulent Middle East. In many countries, intolerance has revived the ghosts of
xenophobia and Islamophobia.
Turmoil is intensifying in the Middle East. International efforts to defe
at Daesh are therefore
urgent. For this, it is essential to reconcile the divergent objectives and priorities of regional and
external powers.
Peace cannot be built when injustice prevails. The long festering tragedy of Palestine demands
determined action
by the international community.
Mr. President,
After decades of strong growth, the world economy has reached a plateau.
Despite this adverse international economic environment, my government has, in three short
years, moved the country towards robust
growth.
We have fully integrated the 2030 Development Agenda into our own economic and social
strategy.
This rests on our conviction that people are the true wealth of our nation and that it is human
development, which will determine our future destiny.
Mr. President,
Our priority goal of economic development requires internal peace and stability. My country has
been the principal victim of terrorism including that supported, sponsored and financed from
abroad.
We will not allow externally sponsored t
errorism and threats of destabilization to cause
turbulence in Pakistan.
Tens of thousands of our citizens and thousands of our security personnel have been killed or
injured in terrorist attacks.
This has only reinforced our resolve to eliminate the sco
urge of terrorism. Our comprehensive
strategy of law enforcement and targeted military operations has produced remarkable results
and enabled Pakistan to turn the tide against terrorism.
Pakistan’s Zarb
–
e
–
Azb Operation is the largest, most robust and most
successful anti
–
terrorism
campaign anywhere in the world, deploying 200,000 of our security forces.
Our comprehensive National Action Plan has the complete endorsement of our people and our
Parliament as well as our security forces, all of whom have made
heroic sacrifices to defeat
terrorism.
Mr. President,
Terrorism, however, is now a global phenomenon, which must be addressed comprehensively
and in all its forms, including State terrorism.
The international community must coordinate its efforts to ac
complish this. These efforts should
be taken collectively and not unilaterally by the passage of any laws with extra
–
territorial
application targeted against certain countries.
We will not win the fight against terrorism and violent extremism so long as w
e do not address
their root causes. These lie in poverty and ignorance, political and social injustice and
oppression, foreign intervention and occupation and denial of the legitimate rights of peoples and
nations, especially the right to self
–
determinatio
n.
Until these underlying causes are addressed, it will be difficult to counter the twisted narrative of
violent extremists and terrorists.
Mr. President,
After 15 years of the current war in Afghanistan, the international community agrees that the
only
road to a lasting peace in that country is through a dialogue between the Government in
Kabul and the Afghan Taliban.
Pakistan has long proposed this as the most viable course to end decades of conflict and suffering
in Afghanistan.
Based on this belief
in a negotiated peace, and in response to requests from President Ashraf
Ghani, we have been facilitating the process of reconciliation in Afghanistan.
There have been setbacks. That, however, is not a sufficient reason to abandon the path of peace
and r
ely on the military option, which has failed, for the past decade and a half, to stabilize
Afghanistan.
Progress will be assured only when the Afghan parties themselves conclude that there is no
military solution to the Afghan war, and work assiduously, t
hrough a meaningful dialogue
process, for achieving reconciliation and peace at home.
Mr. President,
Over three and a half decades of conflict and chaos in Afghanistan has had grave security and
economic consequences for Pakistan. Almost three million Af
ghan refugees, to whom we opened
our homes and hearts, remain in Pakistan.
We hope to see them return to Afghanistan, voluntarily and with dignity.
Until they do, the international community must shoulder its responsibilities to sustain them.
Mr. Presid
ent,
Confrontation should not be our destiny in South Asia. Pakistan wants peace with India. I have
gone the extra mile to achieve this, repeatedly offering a dialogue to address all outstanding
issues.
But India has posed unacceptable preconditions to en
gage in a dialogue. Let us be clear:
talks are no favor to Pakistan. Talks are in the interest of both countries. They are essential to
resolve our differences, especially the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, and to avert the danger of
any escalation.
Mr. Presi
dent,
Peace and normalization between Pakistan and India cannot be achieved without a resolution of
the Kashmir dispute. This is an objective evaluation, not a partisan position.
Our predictions have now been confirmed by events. A new generation of Kash
miris has risen
spontaneously against India’s illegal occupation
–
demanding freedom from occupation. Burhan
Wani, the young leader murdered by Indian forces, has emerged as the symbol of the latest
Kashmiri Intifada, a popular and peaceful freedom movemen
t, led by Kashmiris, young and old,
men and women, armed only with an undying faith in the legitimacy of their cause, and a hunger
for freedom in their hearts.
Mr. President,
This indigenous uprising of the Kashmiris has been met, as usual, with brutal r
epression by
India’s occupation force of over half a million soldiers. Over a hundred Kashmiris have been
killed, hundreds, including children and infants, blinded by shotgun pellets and over six thousand
unarmed civilians injured over the past two months.
These Indian brutalities are well documented. I would like to inform the General Assembly that
Pakistan will share with the Secretary General a dossier containing detailed information and
evidence of the gross and systematic violations of human rights co
mmitted by Indian forces in
occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
These brutalities will not suppress the spirit of the Kashmiris; it will only intensify their anger
and fortify their determination to see India end its occupation of Kashmir. From Srinagar to
Sopore
, the men, women and children come out each day, defying curfew, to demand freedom.
Mr. President,
Pakistan fully supports the demand of the Kashmiri people for self
–
determination, as promised to
them by several Security Council resolutions. Their strugg
le is a legitimate one for liberation
from alien occupation.
International law and the declarations of the United Nations on Self Determination, give the
Kashmiri people the right to struggle for their freedom. Every year, the General Assembly
unanimously
adopts the resolution, which reaffirms “the right of all people’s to self
–
determination” and calls on the states concerned to immediately end their occupation and “all
acts of repression.”
Mr. President,
On behalf of the Kashmiri people; on behalf of th
e mothers, wives, sisters, and fathers of the
innocent Kashmiri children, women and men who have been killed, blinded and injured; on
behalf of the Pakistani nation, I demand an independent inquiry into the extra
–
judicial killings,
and a UN fact finding mi
ssion to investigate brutalities perpetrated by the Indian occupying
forces, so that those guilty of these atrocities are punished.
We demand the immediate release of all Kashmiri political prisoners; an end to the curfew;
freedom for the Kashmiris to dem
onstrate peacefully; urgent medical help for the injured;
abrogation of India’s draconian ‘laws’; and removal of the foreign travel ban on Kashmiri
leaders.
Mr. President,
The Security Council has called for the exercise of the right to self
–
determinati
on by the people
of Jammu and Kashmir through a free and fair plebiscite held under UN auspices. The people of
Kashmir have waited 70 years for implementation of this promise. The Security Council must
honour its commitments by implementing its own decisio
ns. This General Assembly must
demand that India deliver on the commitments its leaders solemnly made on many occasions.
To this end, steps should be taken by the United Nations to de
–
militarize Jammu and Kashmir
and undertake consultations with India, Pa
kistan and the true representatives of the Kashmiri
people to implement the resolutions of the Security Council. In this context, we welcome the
offer of good offices by Secretary
–
General Ban Ki
–
moon. We will also open consultations with
members of the Sec
urity Council to explore the modalities for implementation of the Security
Council resolutions on Kashmir.
Mr. President,
The international community ignores the danger of rising tensions in South Asia, at its own peril.
For its part, Pakistan is commit
ted to the establishment of strategic stability in the region. It
neither wants, nor is it engaged in an arms race with India.
But we cannot ignore our neighbor’s unprecedented arms build up and will take whatever
measures are necessary to maintain credib
le deterrence.
We have consistently urged the conclusion of bilateral arms control and disarmament measures
between Pakistan and India to prevent conflict and avoid wasteful military expenditures.
We are open to discussing all measures of restraint and r
esponsibility with India, in any forum or
format and without any conditions.
We are ready for talks to agree on a bilateral nuclear test ban treaty.
Today, from this rostrum, I would also like to reiterate our offer to India to enter into a serious
and s
ustained dialogue for the peaceful resolution of all outstanding disputes, especially Jammu
and Kashmir.
Mr. President,
As a responsible nuclear weapon state, Pakistan will continue to cooperate with all international
efforts that seek to promote fair a
nd equitable solutions to disarmament and non
–
proliferation
challenges.
We have introduced ‘state of the art’ measures to strengthen the safety and security of our
nuclear materials and facilities. We have adopted a comprehensive export control regime tha
t is
fully consistent with international standards.
Judged on the basis of objective criteria, and without discrimination, Pakistan is fully eligible for
membership of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group.
Mr. President,
In our turbulent and interdependent worl
d, the United Nations remains an indispensable
Organization to restore order and ensure global peace, stability and prosperity. Its principles
remain the crucial pillars of international legality, the guide for the conduct of Member States
and the guaranto
r of the legitimate rights of all nations and peoples.
The UN must regain its credibility as the central instrument for the promotion of peace,
prosperity and liberty.
To that end, it should become more representative, transparent and accountable. A
comp
rehensive and democratic reform of the Security Council, which Pakistan supports, should
enhance its relevance and representation. Creating new centers of privilege will do the opposite.
Mr. President,
Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to the UN is well e
stablished. We have played a pioneering
and consistent role in UN Peacekeeping.
Despite our own security requirements, we will remain one of world’s largest troop contributing
countries and maintain our record of success in multiple UN peacekeeping operat
ions.
Mr. President,
Pakistan has a vital stake in ending conflicts, fostering peace, fighting terrorism, strengthening
democracy, promoting human rights, generating global growth and overcoming the challenges of
environmental degradation. We can achieve
these goals, and create a new and peaceful world
order, only through the United Nations and by strict adherence to the principles of its Charter.
I thank you, Mr. President