Report reveals tax details of Pak parliamentarians
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan’s virtual speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Sept.25 would focus on the Kashmir dispute, the Foreign Office ( FO) said.
“Due to restrictions imposed by the local government in New York, there will be no in-person high-level participation from outside. Imran Khan will address the General Assembly on Friday, ” Foreign Office Spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said.
The general debate, which is the centrepiece of any UN General Assembly session, starts from Sept.22.
The current session, which is the 75th session, is unique in the world body’s history with leaders not atending in person and other meetings being held online.
World leaders will send recorded video statements, which would be introduced by the respective country’s envoy, and then played in the UNGA Hall “as live.” However, the world leaders can still atend in person. Chaudhri said that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute will certainly be an important component of the prime minister’s UNGA address.
“Let me reiterate that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute continues to remain a foreign policy priority for Pakistan.”
In his speech at the 74th UNGA session last year, Imran had highlighted sufferings of Kashmiris and the Indian action of annexing the territory.
Alongside the UNGA session, there would be a series of special high-level sessions, including an event to commemorate the UN’S 75th anniversary; a summit on biodiversity; and a meeting to commemorate, and promote, the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
Chaudhri said that Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi would participate virtually in the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. He will also participate in other high-level engagements, he added.
In a separate development, Imran said that the decay of local cinema industry not only led to the onslaught of foreign content but also impacted the youth’s upbringing on high moral values.
While chairing a meeting to discuss the role and revival of the cinema industry for promotion of national identity, culture and heritage, he said cinema played a vital role to highlight social values and national heritage, besides providing quality and inexpensive entertainment to the people.
Information Minister Senator Shibli Faraz, Industries Minister Hammad Azhar, special assistants Lt Gen (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa, Dr Shahbaz Gill and Zulfiqar Bukhari, Senator Faisal Javed, secretaries of relevant ministries, State Bank governor, Federal Board of Revenue chairman and senior officers atended the meeting.