Pakistan

Before I begin my statement, I want to express the strongest condemnation of the recent acts of incitement to hatred perpetrated against the faith of the billions of Muslims around the world and our beloved Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Although we can never condone violence, the international community must not remain a silent observer and should criminalize such acts, which destroy the peace of the world and endanger global security by abusing the freedom of expression. Pakistan asks that the United Nations immediately address this matter of great alarm and concern and bridge the widening rift in order to enable the comity of nations to be one again. I would like to congratulate the President on his election to his important post and to convey our appreciation to the previous President, His Excellency Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, from the brotherly state of Qatar, who carried out his work with skill. I would also like to express our appreciation for the laudable work of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. We greatly appreciate his leadership in guiding the work of the Organization. It is a special privilege to be at the General Assembly today, representing the brave and courageous people of Pakistan. Globally, we face enormous challenges. But with collective efforts and commitment we can provide our people with a better future. We must work to end poverty. We must work to protect the planet and mitigate climate change. We must ensure that all people have equal rights, and we must protect the weak and vulnerable. We must pursue justice and fairness for all. We must pursue the peaceful settlement of international disputes. We must save our current and future generations from the horrors of war. I think of my own children and the generations of unborn children yet to come. They, and all the children of the world, deserve safety, stability and security. Those goals have guided me throughout my four years in office as President of Pakistan. They are the goals and principles about which I want to talk today. Pakistan’s engagement with the United Nations lies at the heart of those goals. We are proud of going above and beyond the call of duty in fulfilling our international responsibilities. Pakistan has consistently been among the top United Nations peacekeeping troop contributors for many years. Today, more than 10,000 Pakistani troops proudly wear the Blue Helmet of the United Nations in the service of our brothers and sisters around the world. Our election to the Security Council reflects our commitment to world peace. It is also a vote of confidence in Pakistan on the part of the international community.The United Nations represents our common aspirations for peace and development. However, it needs reform. The United Nations system must become more democratic and accountable, and reform should be based on consensus and democratic principles. In the last several years, Pakistan has repeatedly suffered natural calamities. The people of Pakistan appreciate the support of the United Nations and the international community in that connection. Being a democratic country, we believe that the legitimate aspirations of any people should be accommodated peacefully and in a manner consistent with the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of States. We support the rights of the Palestinian people and an independent Palestinian State. We also favour the admission of Palestine to full membership of the United Nations. There are many questions that are asked of Pakistan these days. I am not here to answer questions about Pakistan. The people of Pakistan have already answered them. The politicians of Pakistan have answered them. The soldiers of Pakistan have answered them. We have lost more than 7,000 Pakistani soldiers and policemen, and more than 37,000 civilians. We have lost our Minister for Minority Affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti, and my friend Salmaan Taseer, Governor of Punjab, our most populous province, to the actions of extremists. And I need not remind my friends here today that I bear a personal scar. On 27 December 2007, knowing that her life was under threat from the mindset that she had warned the world against, Pakistan’s first elected female leader, and my wife, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, was martyred by the bullets and bombs of terrorists. Terrorism and extremism have destroyed human lives, torn the social fabric and devastated the economy. Our economy, our lives and our ability to live in the shadow of our Sufi saints and our freedom-loving forefathers have been challenged. We have responded. Our soldiers have responded. So I am not here to answer questions about Pakistan. I am here to ask some questions on behalf of the Pakistani people: on behalf of the two-year-old baby who was killed in the bombing at Lahore’s Moon Market on 7 December 2009; on behalf of Pervaiz Masih, a Christian Pakistani who was killed with six others while trying to protect Muslim Pakistanis during a bomb attack on Islamic University in Islamabad on 20 October 2009; on behalf of Commandant Siffat Gha-yoor of the Frontier Constabulary police force in Peshawar, who was martyred by militants on 4 August 2010; on behalf of the traders and businessmen in Peshawar, Quetta, Lahore and Karachi and in the dozens of marketplaces that have been ravaged by multiple bombings, over and over and over again; and, perhaps most of all, on behalf of my three children, whose mother, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, was also martyred by terrorists. For more than 30 years, our doors have been open to our Afghan brothers and sisters. For many years, we were left to fend for ourselves and our Afghan guests. I remember the red carpet that was rolled out for all the dictators in our country — dictators who promised the international community the moon — while Pakistan was kept in the dark. Those dictators and their regimes are responsible for suffocating and throttling Pakistan, Pakistan’s institutions and Pakistan’s democracy. I remember the judicial execution of Pakistan’s first elected leader, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. I remember the jailing of Pakistan’s elected leaders. I remember the 12 years that I myself spent in prison, and I remember the billions provided by the international community to support those dictatorships. My country’s social fabric and its very character have been altered. Our condition today is a product of dictatorship. No country and no people has suffered more in the epic struggle against terrorism than Pakistan. Drone strikes and civilian casualties on our territory add to the complexity of our battle for hearts and minds through this epic struggle. To those who say that we have not done enough, I say in all humility: please do not insult the memory of our dead and the pain of our living. Do not ask of my people what no one has ever asked of any other people. Do not demonize the innocent women and children of Pakistan, and please, stop this refrain to do more. The simplest question of all is: how much more suffering can Pakistan endure? I am sure that the international community does not want any suffering anywhere, least of all in Pakistan. We believe, in fact, that the international community is a partner. That is because it is in the common interest of all nations to work together. In Pakistan, I have helped bring about a major strategic shift in how we view working together. Within Pakistan, our democracy has brought about major changes. God willing, this will be the first civilian Government in Pakistan’s 66-year history to complete its full five-year term. In that time, Parliament has passed unprecedented reforms. We have restored the consensus 1973 Constitution. The National Assembly has enacted wide-ranging social reforms. We have established a National Commission on Women and a National Commission on Human Rights. We have established, for the first time, a truly independent election commission, to ensure free, fair and transparent elections. Our media is free, uncensored and thriving. Our civil society is flourishing under the protection of democracy. We have created the first social safety net, through the women of Pakistan, for the weak and less privileged. Millions of families have benefitted. We have aided the poor and at the same time empowered the women of our households. That safety net is called the Benazir Income Support Programme. These are the gifts of democracy. This is the dream of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. The growing regional pivot in Pakistan’s foreign policy is a symbol of our democratic policy-making. In engaging with our region, we are changing the future. In China, our strategic partnership is growing from strength to strength. In Afghanistan, we have begun to engage and deepen our friendship with the entire range of the Afghan political spectrum. We believe that a sovereign, stable and secure Afghanistan is good for the Afghan people, and what is good for the Afghan people is good for Pakistan. While our hearts and homes remain open to our Afghan brothers, it is imperative that the international community support the 3 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan in their quest to return home with dignity. A brighter Afghan future will be possible only when the quest for peace is Afghan-owned, Afghan-driven and Afghan-led. We respect and support the efforts of the Government of Afghanistan for reconciliation and peace. Pakistan will support in every way possible any process that reflects Afghan national consensus. Similarly, we approach our relations with India on the basis of mutual trust. The contacts between our leadership are expanding. I was encouraged by my discussions last month in Tehran with the Prime Minister of India, whom I met with for the fifth time in four years. Our principled position on territorial disputes remains the bedrock of our foreign policy. We will continue to support the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to peacefully choose their destiny in accordance with the Security Council’s long-standing resolutions on this matter. Kashmir remains a symbol of the failures, rather than the strengths, of the United Nations system. We feel that a resolution of these issues can be arrived at only in an environment of cooperation. By normalizing trade relations, we want to create a regional South Asian narrative. Such a narrative will provide an environment that will mutually benefit the countries of our region. Along this road, there are pitfalls. One of them is the tendency to respond to failure through blame. Pakistan does not blame others for the challenges it faces. We believe that we should look for a win-win solution. Regional cooperation and connectivity will bring us closer and bind us together. It will make us stakeholders in one another’s futures. Our hosting of a quadrilateral summit next month and our signing of the Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement are proof of that commitment to regional connectivity. In Pakistan, the lesson we learned from the last 30 years is that history cannot be changed, but the future can — to a future that is brighter, more prosperous and more secure, not only for Pakistanis but for all the peoples of the region, and, indeed, the world. I must thank the member States of the European Union (EU) for recognizing the value of trade to Pakistan. We seek trade, rather than aid. By granting trade concessions to Pakistan, the EU has sent a positive message. Those concessions will help us revive the economy and fight terrorism. As we embark on this ambitious transformative experience, we are aware that there are threats and pitfalls. One of them is the expanding illegal trade of heroin. Despite the presence of international forces in Afghanistan, the size of the heroin trade has increased by 3,000 per cent in the last decade. The heroin industry is eroding the social fabric of our society. Terrorist activities within our region and, indeed, all over the world are funded and fuelled by the unrestricted production and sale of illegal drugs. Pakistan has pursued an ambitious agenda to control that menace. We are coordinating with our neighbours and will hold a conference later this year to develop a unified approach to stamping out the drug trade. My call upon this body, and especially those nations represented here that are actively engaged in the region, is: here, today, let us begin to work together. I have committed my presidency and my nation’s future to a paradigm shift, a permanent democratic future for Pakistan. It has not been easy, but nothing worth fighting for is. We long ago stopped thinking of doing what is easy. Instead, we have committed ourselves to doing what is right. In that regard, I recall the powerful words of my beloved martyred wife and my leader, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, when she appeared before this body 16 years ago. Her words ring out and guide us into a new future. She said in 1996, “I dream of a third millennium in which the gap between rich and poor evaporates; in which illiteracy, hunger, malnutrition and disease are at long last conquered; in which every child is planned, wanted, nurtured and supported; and in which the birth of a girl is welcomed with the same joy as that of a boy. I dream of a millennium of tolerance and pluralism, in which people respect other people, nations respect other nations, and religions respect other religions. “That is the third millennium I see for my country and others”. (A/51/PV.20, p.4) We have made some progress towards achieving those goals. But so much remains to be done. In her memory and in the name of God Almighty, Pakistan commits to that path again today. May peace be upon all countries and their people.