Shahbaz highlights Kashmir issue, devastating floods at UN
PM calls for a peaceful resolution to the dispute over Kashmir; foreign minister seeks urgent assistance for more than 50 developing countries trapped in multiple crises
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif appealed for a peaceful end to the dispute over Kashmir and deplored regional instability, invoking the perennial themes of Pakistan’s UN addresses ater dedicating the first half of his speech on Friday to the ravages of recent floods.
The flood-induced devastation, which Shahbaz described in biblical terms, means it’s incumbent on Pakistan to “ensure rapid economic growth and lit millions out of poverty and hunger,” he said.
But in order to do so, Shahbaz said, Pakistan needs a “stable external environment” — that means peace in South Asia, which he said hinges on a resolution of the decadeslong dispute over Jammu and Kashmir.
“At the heart of this longstanding dispute lies the denial of the inalienable right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination,” Shahbaz said.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and has been claimed by both since they won independence from the British empire 75 years ago.
Shahbaz accused India of its ambitions by trying to change Kashmir’s demographics from majority Muslim to majority Hindu. While he described Islamophobia as “a global phenomenon,” he specifically accused India’s government of engaging in “the worst manifestation of Islamophobia.”
India — which has said Kashmir is an internal mater and one of law and order — was scheduled to speak at the General Assembly on Saturday.
During his aternoon speech, Shahbaz also spoke at length about regional instability and terrorism — of which he called Pakistan “the principal victim.”
He presented a marked contrast from his flashy yet conservative predecessor, Imran Khan, who dedicated much of last year’s speech to accusing the United States of victimising Pakistan. Imran was ousted in April ater losing a no-confidence vote.
Dressed in a sober business suit instead of Imran’s favoured waistcoat-and-salwar-kameez combination, Shahbaz didn’t once mention the United States by name.
He was impassioned, at times vigorously tapping the rostrum or demonstratively bringing his fists together, but his words struck a less combative tone.
“Pakistan is a partner for peace,” Shahbaz said before departing from prepared remarks: “But Mr President, peace can only be ensured and guaranteed when the rights of communities who have been suffering over decades, and subjugated over decades, earn their freedom and are respected.”
Shahbaz’s speech also represented a departure from last year, when Imran expressed optimism about the then-incipient Taliban rule in Afghanistan and exhorted the General Assembly not to isolate the new government. A year later, no UN member state has recognised the Taliban government.
“Pakistan would also like to see an Afghanistan which is at peace with itself and the world, and which respects and nurtures all its citizens, without regard to gender, ethnicity and religion,” he said, avoiding direct mention of its current government.
Above all, he echoed a fear common to countries who typically do not dominate the global discourse: “My real worry is about the next stage of this challenge, when the cameras would have gone or let this august assembly and the story just shits away to conflicts like Ukraine,” he said of the flooding recovery. “My question is, will we be let alone, high and dry?”
Shahbaz on Saturday said that he had reminded the world that climatic induced calamity that befell on Pakistan would not stay here if urgent action was not taken.
On his Twiter handle, the prime minister, referring to his speech at the United Nations General Assembly session, said that he had cautioned the world about the imminent climatic impacts that had been staring at the face of entire humanity.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhuto Zardari has called for urgent assistance to more than 50 developing countries trapped in multiple crises.
“Our countries and people confront monumental challenges. We need to change the policies and structures that perpetuate inequality and poverty,” he told the annual ministerial meeting of the Group of 77 and China, which is chaired by Pakistan this year.