103. Mr. President, I join the previous speakers in the general debate in offering sincere congratulations to you on your unanimous election to the Presidency of the General Assembly and in paying a tribute to your distinguished predecessor. Ambassador Pazhwak presided over as many as three sessions of the Assembly with exemplary patience, judgement and ability. By these qualities and by his deep understanding of the working of the United Nations, he has earned the respect of all of us for himself and his great country, our close neighbour Afghanistan.
104. In expressing our satisfaction at your election, Mr. President, I am not merely following a ritual. I have warm personal recollections of your visit to Pakistan in May last. We have been deeply impressed by your vision and statesmanship. Our gratification also derives from the fact that a representative of the important region of Eastern Europe and of one of the great economic and political systems of the world is, for the first time, presiding over the Assembly's deliberations.
105. We are meeting in this Assembly this year under menacing clouds. The harrowing tragedy of Viet-Nam and the unparalleled suffering of its people rebuke our collective conscience, mocking the value of our deliberations here on the great issues of war and peace. The war in Viet-Nam is a main cause of international tension today. It is evident that there cannot be a military solution of the problem. It is, therefore, imperative that this war be brought to an end — the sooner the better — and that the Viet-Namese people be enabled to settle their destiny without foreign interference, as envisaged in the Geneva Agreements of 1954.
106. For reasons rooted in the composition of the United Nations and the history of the conflict, this Assembly is in no position to make recommendations to resolve the problem of Viet-Nam. This is not the case, however, in regard to the tragic situation in the Middle East. Indeed, the Arab-Israel conflict is par excellence a problem of the United Nations. It is a problem which is directly related to the acts and omissions of the United Nations. Its settlement can be left neither to the parties nor to the passage of time. It remains the prime and inescapable responsibility of this Organization.
107. In the joint Pakistan-USSR communiqué of 4 October issued in Moscow on the conclusion of the visit of the President of Pakistan, it was stated:
"The two sides considered the grave situation in the Near East which had developed as a result of Israeli aggression against the Arab States. Condemning the aggressive actions of Israel, they considered that withdrawal without delay of Israeli forces from the Arab territories occupied during the military action is the most urgent task in the cause of normalization of the situation in the Near East."
I should like to discuss some of the main aspects of the Middle East situation.
108. The first aspect, to which we in Pakistan attach paramount importance, concerns a fundamental principle, namely, that conquest of territory by war is inadmissible under the Charter of the United Nations, Consequently, the invading forces must withdraw to positions held prior to hostilities. We are convinced that, unless the principle of inadmissibility of territorial or political gains through the use or threat of force is upheld by this Assembly, we shall cripple the capacity of this Organization to prevent the use of armed force in inter-State relations.
109. The invasion of the territories of the United Arab Republic, Jordan and Syria by Israel in June was an act of aggression. Aggression is the gravest crime under international law. Even more subversive of the law of nations and the international order is inaction on the part of the United Nations in bringing about the cessation of aggression. There is no reason why the Assembly should not do the very minimum that needs to be done. That minimum is a demand for the immediate withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the territories which they overran last June.
110. If we recognize that — as is evident from most of the statements made during the emergency special session and in this debate — it is not open to Israel to claim the right of conquest over any Arab territories, it follows that it is not open to Israel to hold these territories in order to impose its own terms of peace on the Arab States.
111. If one were to deviate from this principle, the door would be open for any State to invade the territory of another and make a withdrawal of its forces conditional on the submission of the victim to its diktat or terms of peace. We cannot believe that the Members of this Organization do not appreciate the grave consequences which must follow the sacrifice of this principle.
112. Pakistan will welcome and support any constructive proposals for restoring peace with justice in the Middle East. Justice will not permit us to ignore the fact that Israel was established in Palestine through the expulsion of a million of its Arab inhabitants. This was the original injustice to the Arabs. The injustice has been compounded by the
territorial expansion of Israel at their expense. Its territorial ambitions continue to grow. Unless due restraint is put upon Israel’s expansion, there can be no stable peace in the Middle East.
113. We maintain that the General Armistice Agreements concluded between the Arab States and Israel cannot be repudiated unilaterally and cast into oblivion. International agreements cannot be modified or terminated except with the consent of the parties, freely given. The sanctity of international agreements is one of the main pillars of the United Nations — and of Pakistan's foreign policy. The whole edifice of the rule of law would crumble if the United Nations were to permit any party to an international agreement to denounce it at its own will. The assertion by Israel that all agreements between it and the Arab States are dead and buried does not nullify these agreements. If anything, it brings into serious question Israel's good faith in entering into any international agreements with the Arab States, now or in the future.
114. An even more explosive element in the present situation in the Middle East is the launching by Israel of a plan for the settlement of Israelis in occupied territories. We note with a measure of satisfaction the disapproval of these moves, especially by the great Powers. But the only certain way to stop such moves is by bringing about the speedy withdrawal of Israeli forces to the 4 June positions.
115. While the stand of the Arab States, as declared at the Arab Summit Conference, held at Khartoum from 29 August to 1 September, is moderate and in favour of a peaceful solution, it is a matter "for concern that Israel should continue to maintain its intransigent posture on all issues, insist on direct negotiations with the Arab States, and reject any role of mediation for the United Nations. If Israel is serious about peace in the Middle East, it should not present the Arab States with demands which are impossible for them to meet. Insistence on forcing the Arab Governments to enter into direct negotiations with Israel, even in the teeth of the violent opposition of their people, makes us wonder whether Israel's real intention is not to continue its occupation of Arab territories indefinitely.
116. I shall in this context quote from the recent statement of President Ayub Khan:
"So long as Israeli forces do not withdraw from the areas which they occupied during their aggression in the month of June, a favourable climate for negotiations cannot be created nor can a sensible solution be worked out."
117. It has been asserted in the context of the Middle East problem that the United Nations must not merely administer palliatives but also find a cure, that it must not attack the symptoms of a disease but its root cause. The real roots of the conflict in the Middle East are the concomitants of Israel's creation. The injustice done to the Arab people is not a matter of the past. The problem of Palestine refugees is not merely a humanitarian problem. Their right to resettlement in their homeland or to compensation is the very core of the political issue. A supreme effort must be made to implement the resolutions of the General Assembly on the rights of Palestine refugees. Only thus will it be possible to assure a genuine and durable settlement of the continuing crisis in the Middle East. Only thus will all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place.
118. The hostilities in the Middle East have inflicted heavy human and material losses on Jordan, Syria and the United Arab Republic. In assisting these States to rehabilitate their economies the United Nations family of organizations can play a significant role. It is not enough to identify the specific areas in which such assistance can be rendered. Concrete help is to he provided. We hope that Member States and the members of the United Nations family of organizations will respond to this need in the best traditions of international rehabilitation efforts.
119. The second aspect of the Middle East situation to which I would refer here is that of the Holy City of Jerusalem. By its two resolutions 2253 (ES-V) and 2254 (ES-V) the Assembly considered invalid the measures taken by Israel to change the status of Jerusalem, called upon Israel to rescind them and deplored Israel's failure to comply with the Assembly's call. That, despite these two unequivocal resolutions, Israel should persist in further action to annex Jerusalem is offensive to the whole international community. The letter addressed by Mr. Eban on 11 September 1967 to the Secretary-General compounds this offence by taking no notice whatsoever of the Assembly's resolutions.
120. Israel's defiance is manifest from many actions and utterances of the Israeli authorities. Their disregard of the universal religious interests in Jerusalem is apparent from one example which I shall quote, according to which the Israeli Minister for Religion stated:
"The liberation of Jerusalem has placed all the Christian Holy Places, and an important part of the Moslem Holy Places, under the province of Israel, and has returned to the Jews their Holy Places. But Israel has other holy places in East Jordan, and the Holy Mosque in Jerusalem, though holy to other religions ... is a Jewish shrine, but we are not thinking at the present of building our temple there, though we will try and do it later, and we will build all the Jewish synagogues in the old City and enlarge the area of Al-Baraq Wall as soon as possible.
"As to the Holy Ibrahim Mosque, the Cave is a Jewish shrine which we bought, in the same way that we bought the Holy Rock in the days of David and the Yabusins, and our rights in the Cave and the Rock are rights of conquest and acquisition."
121. We had all thought that, in this day and age when the Charter is already twenty-two years old, colonialism was no longer valid and that no territory was to be conquered or acquired by force. But Israel is determined to disabuse us all of this notion, It talks of the right of conquest or' acquisition.
122. Such an attitude needs to be checked. Continued defiance of the Assembly's resolutions on Jerusalem has not only jeopardized peace and stability in the Middle East. It has also outraged the sentiments of peoples all over the world. Jerusalem is not only the focus of the conflict in the Middle East. It also commands the deepest spiritual allegiance of the devotees of three great religions in the world. Pakistan believes that the time has come for the Security Council to secure compliance with the resolutions of the General Assembly concerning Jerusalem.
123. I now turn to the India-Pakistan question. In the introduction to his annual report, the Secretary-General has stated:
"following last year's promising development at Tashkent, there has been no serious effort on the part of the United Nations to contribute to an ultimate solution of the problem" [A/6701/Add.1, para, 41].
It will be recalled that in its resolution 211 (1965) of 20 September 1965, the Security Council pledged itself to assist the parties to resolve the problem underlying the India-Pakistan war once the cease-fire and withdrawal of forces had been carried out. The Security Council resolution also called upon the parties to utilize all peaceful means to this end, including those listed in Article 33 of the Charter of the United Nations.
124. Thanks to the welcome initiative and efforts of Chairman Kosygin at Tashkent, Pakistan and India agreed on a withdrawal of forces and to settle their disputes through peaceful means. Withdrawals were carried out soon afterwards. A meeting was held at the level of Ministers in March 1966 to consider the steps that should be taken to resolve the disputes peacefully.
125. Since that time, despite continued diplomatic exchanges and correspondence between the Governments of Pakistan and India, we regret that, except for casual statements of a make-believe nature apparently made for propaganda purposes, there is no indication of India's willingness to enter into meaningful negotiations on the issue which lies at the heart of the India-Pakistan tension.
126. This is the dispute which concerns the implementation of the right of self-determination of 5 million people of Jammu and Kashmir. India and Pakistan as well as the United Nations are committed to let the people of Kashmir decide their future freely in accordance with their own wishes. While the then Foreign Minister of India assured us that his Government was ready to discuss all questions including Kashmir without preconditions or pre-commitments, the Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, publicly declared, "India has nothing to negotiate with Pakistan on Kashmir".
127. We have repeatedly urged the Government of India not to take any action which, instead of easing the dispute, would aggravate it. To our dismay India continues to take one step after another to consolidate its occupation of the State and to exacerbate the feelings of the Kashmiri people and the people of Pakistan.
128. India's measures to annex the State and intensify the repression of the people have been brought to the attention of the Security Council from time to time. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and other acknowledged leaders of the Kashmir people — Mirza Afzal Beg and Moulvi Farooq — continue to be robbed of their freedom. Tension in the State is mounting. The demand for the exercise of the right of self-determination is becoming more insistent every day. Even a few days ago police firings on peaceful demonstrators in Srinagar resulted in several deaths. According to a report published today in the Washington Post, six newspapers have been banned in Indian-occupied Kashmir.
129. An ever intensifying régime of repression and ruthless suppression of the human rights of the people is not the prescription for a reduction of tensions between India and Pakistan. If India truly desires peace, India must release the imprisoned Kashmiri leaders and create a climate of freedom in Jammu and Kashmir.
130. A settlement of this dispute on a just and honourable basis would transform the situation not only in South Asia but well beyond that region. Scarce, resources would be used for economic development and not be frittered away on an arms race. A new era would dawn in which the two countries would be able to cooperate in promoting the cause of peace and well-being of Asia and Africa. This is an aim which is in the true interests not only of the peoples of Pakistan and India but also of the entire international community.
131. I would quote here the words of the President of Pakistan from his political autobiography, Friends Not Masters:
"The assumption that disputes get resolved with the passage of time is open to serious question. Fundamental disputes affecting the life and freedom of people cannot be swept under the rug; nor do they get buried under the dust of time. They have a habit of erupting because human beings cannot be kept eternally in bondage.
"This is the point which India, and indeed the world, has to realize when dealing with the problem of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, who are engaged in a life-and-death struggle to establish their right of self-determination."
132. We share the regret expressed by the Secretary-General in the introduction to his annual report for 1967 that there has been no significant progress towards a solution of the Cyprus problem. That problem continues to pose a threat to peace and stability in that region. My Government believes that a just, peaceful and lasting solution of the Cyprus problem can be found only on the basis of the preservation of the legitimate rights and interests of the Greek and Turkish communities and in strict observance of international agreements.
133. The immediate problem to be dealt with in the context of disarmament at present is the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Any addition to the number of nuclear Powers would inevitably start a chain reaction in the direction of uncontrollable proliferation. The urgency of this problem has been widely recognized.
134. Pakistan has welcomed the identical drafts of a non-proliferation treaty submitted to the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament by the Soviet Union and the United States. It is our fervent hope that the differences on the inspection clause will soon be overcome and that the views of the non-aligned countries relating to the balance of mutual obligations and responsibilities on the part of both nuclear and non-nuclear countries will be accommodated to the greatest practicable extent. Certainly, no Member of the United Nations would wish that, while the nonnuclear States are required to renounce the acquisition of nuclear weapons, the nuclear Powers should not even begin the process of nuclear disarmament. At the same time Pakistan would hope that, while striving for the articulation of the principle of balance in responsibilities and obligations, the non-nuclear countries will not make their acceptance of a non-proliferation treaty conditional or contingent on an agreement between the nuclear Powers on measures of nuclear disarmament. Insistence on such measures in the light of our experience of disarmament negotiations would delay and even prejudice the conclusion of a treaty and defeat the end that all of us seek to achieve — namely, to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. The value of the treaty will largely depend on how soon it is concluded and on the extent of the unqualified adherence that it commands.
135. Last year the General Assembly, in resolution 2153 B (XXI), decided to convene a conference of non-nuclear-weapon States to consider how best their security can be guaranteed against nuclear threat or blackmail, Pakistan had made it clear that the proposal was conceived to complement, not duplicate; to supplement, and not compete with, the work on the non-proliferation treaty of the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament.
136. It was in that spirit that the Preparatory Committee established by resolution 2153 B (XXI) decided to await developments in the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament as long as possible before commencing its task. The report of the Preparatory Committee [A/6817], which was adopted only after the two identical drafts of the non-proliferation treaty had been submitted to the Conference of the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament, is before the General Assembly.
137. The Preparatory Committee has recommended that the conference of non-nuclear-weapon States should be held next year from 11 March to 10 April, and that the nuclear weapon States should be invited to participate with full rights except the right to vote. It is apparent from the report of the Preparatory Committee that it has tried its best to ensure that the non-nuclear-weapon States Conference will deliberate essentially on those questions which arise directly from the conclusion of the non-proliferation treaty but are outside the scope of the treaty.
138. We note the views of the United States and the Soviet Union that the question of security guarantees to non-nuclear States should not form a substantive part of the non-proliferation treaty but should be discussed in the United Nations as a separate matter, Pakistan and, I am sure, all non-nuclear-weapon States welcome the coincidence of the views of the two super-Powers and their own in regard to the appropriate context for dealing with the question of security guarantees. We would hope that the United States and the Soviet Union, and also the other nuclear Powers, would give favourable consideration to the conference of non-nuclear weapon States as the appropriate forum for the continuation of a substantive and full consideration of the problem of security guarantees.
139. The Pakistan delegation voted in favour of the inscription on the agenda of the current session of the item entitled "Conclusion of a convention on the prohibition of the use of nuclear weapons" [item 96] proposed by the USSR. The question may be asked: would not a convention on the prohibition of nuclear weapons do away with the question of security guarantees? To the best of our judgement the answer is no. A prohibition by itself cannot be the full answer to the problem of security.
140. In the context of disarmament, Pakistan cannot but pay tribute to the Latin American nations for the great example they have set by concluding in Mexico, early this year, the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America. That treaty constitutes an act of the highest statesmanship which deserves to be emulated in other regions.
141. No meaningful discussion of the problems affecting the security and well-being of mankind, and especially of the issues of war and peace, can take place in this Organization as long as it continues to deny to one of its Founder Members, and a permanent member of the Security Council, its rightful place in all its organs. The exclusion of the legitimate representatives of China from this world body lends an air of unreality to its decisions and recommendations, It is ironical that, when universality is the goal set for its membership, the real representatives of the largest State in the world, and one which represents a main and self-determined world civilization, should be denied due participation. None can dispute the weight that the People's Republic of China carries in international relations by virtue of its stature as a major Power; yet it is denied representation. Little wonder, then, that its exclusion severely impairs the capacity of the United Nations to find solutions to some of the major world problems. We would, therefore, urge that the Assembly accord the People's Republic of China its rightful place in all the organs of the United Nations.
142. It is intolerable that the twin evils of colonialism and racial discrimination have not yet been fully eradicated. Besides other Territories elsewhere, large areas of southern Africa are still under colonial and racist minority régimes. The United Nations cannot weaken in its determination to ensure the full implementation of the historic General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV). By their very nature, apartheid, racial discrimination and colonialism in their various manifestations create explosive situations which threaten international peace. The United Nations must therefore continue to accord the highest priority to issues affecting self-determination and human rights.
143. The General Assembly took a momentous decision last year to terminate the Mandate of South Africa over South West Africa [resolution 2145 E (XXI)]
and assume direct responsibility for its administration and accession to independence. The subsequent measures taken by the General Assembly in May this year are equally important steps [resolution 2248 (S-V). The defiant attitude of the Pretoria authorities has again posed a serious challenge to the United Nations. It is now incumbent on us to overcome the obstacles placed in the way of effective implementation of the Assembly’s decisions. Heavy responsibility for their fulfilment continues to rest with the permanent members of the Security Council and the major trading partners of South Africa.
144. The rebellion of the white racist minority in Southern Rhodesia in November 1965 has not yet been quelled* Contrary to the assessment of the administrative Power, the economy of Southern Rhodesia has failed to collapse under the weight of the selective sanctions imposed by the Security Council in December 1966. Pakistan is among the Asian-African countries that have been sceptical of the efficacy of such sanctions, It now devolves on the Security Council to take more effective measures to bring down the illegal racist régime in Salisbury as a first step towards the attainment of the goal of self-determination and independence of the people of Zimbabwe.
145. The present depressing political situation in the world finds its reflection in the economic and social fields as well. Nearly all the representatives of developing countries who have spoken before me have expressed their deepest concern over the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor countries. The results of the first United Nations Development Decade have so far been disappointing, even though the targets were indeed modest. They could have been realized if the necessary political will on the part of the developed countries had been present.
146. The lessons to be learnt from the failures of the first United Nations Development Decade are clear. If we are to continue in our joint endeavours to see a better world emerge, it is necessary that serious thought be given now to the period following the present decade. In our view, the time has come for the General Assembly to designate the 1970s as the second development decade.
147. Such a decision is necessary to give an impetus to the preparatory work on the framework of the international development strategy for the next decade. Apart from fixing targets for increase in the gross national product of developing countries, flow of development assistance and individual sectors like health, education and food consumption, we urge that special emphasis be placed on achieving "progress through trade". In this respect, the results that may hopefully be achieved at the second session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development will be of great significance. We are confident that the momentous Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Seventy-Seven commencing today in Algiers will go a long way to ensure the success of the second United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
148. Once the framework for the next decade has been prepared, my delegation would suggest that it be approved at a special session of the General Assembly convened solely for that purpose. Such a special session would highlight the importance attached by Member States of this Organization to working together in evolving a new world order. It would help mobilize world public opinion in support of concerted action for achieving defined objectives over a period of a decade. I need not point out that if this support is lacking, we are likely to slide back into the apathy which has been the bane of the present decade, with consequences which can only be catastrophic for peace and stability in the world.
149. In conclusion, let me stress that, as this Assembly deliberates on the different items on its agenda, mankind’s eyes will be focused on it, not out of curiosity regarding how it smoothly conducts its business, but out of concern whether it holds fast to the purposes and principles of the Charter. As we think of the grave problems before us — the situation in the Middle East, the situation in Africa, the India-Pakistan question, the spiralling arms race, the imbalance in the world economy — it remains our hope that the United Nations will apply itself to them, not in a spirit of expediency but to evolve just, effective and speedy solutions. We trust that the United Nations will not abdicate its functions and neglect its duties.