I am indeed very happy to
see a sister from fraternal Bahrain presiding over the
General Assembly at this important session. Your
election, Madam, symbolizes the increasingly
significant role that women are playing in the Muslim
world. You will have Pakistan’s full support in carrying
out your challenging responsibilities.
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This is the first time that I have addressed this
body since the devastating earthquake that occurred in
the northern regions of Pakistan last October. I
therefore take this opportunity to express our deepest
gratitude for the relief and financial assistance that we
received from around the world. We were deeply
moved by the global solidarity displayed in the hour of
our distress and need.
Multilateral cooperation is the key to addressing
the existing and emerging challenges of the twenty-
first century: political disputes, terrorism, proliferation,
poverty, hunger, disease, economic disparities,
migration, unemployment, environmental degradation
and natural disasters. We appreciate the Secretary-
General’s initiatives to equip the United Nations to
respond to those challenges. But we are yet a distance
from the vision endorsed at the 2005 United Nations
Summit.
Over the past six years, despite daunting external
and internal challenges, Pakistan has been transformed
into a dynamic nation, moving rapidly towards the
vision of our founder, namely, a modern, progressive,
Islamic and democratic republic. We have reformed our
institutions of governance and our economy.
Democratic governance has been introduced at the
grass-roots level. We are focusing on lifting up the
underprivileged sectors of our society: poor people,
women and minorities. Women are being politically
and economically empowered and protected against
discrimination. Minorities have been politically
mainstreamed. We have also unshackled the media.
Having successfully put our economy on an
upsurge, we are now embarked on second-generation
reforms to spread the benefits of growth to all our
people. One of our strategic aims is to utilize
Pakistan’s unique geostrategic position to build trade,
energy and communication corridors linking South
Asia, West Asia, Central Asia and China. Regional
integration will accelerate economic growth and
prosperity in our part of Asia and even beyond. Of
course, Pakistan still faces daunting challenges from
within and without. We are facing them boldly to build
an environment of peace and stability in our region.
Pakistan desires a peaceful environment in the
region. We have been engaged in a peace process with
India aimed at building confidence and resolving
issues — including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute —
that have been the source of tension and conflict
between the two countries in the past. The improved
relations and the conducive international environment
have brought an acceptable solution to this long-
standing dispute within reach. I am confident that my
positive meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
in Havana will help to carry the peace process forward,
which is vital for the future of both countries and for
peace in South Asia and beyond.
A stable security environment is also important
for peace in our region. Pakistan has proposed the
creation of a strategic restraint regime in South Asia,
encompassing minimum nuclear deterrence and a
balance of conventional forces. We do not want to
enter into an arms race. But we will do whatever is
necessary to preserve the credibility of our minimum
defensive deterrence level.
Pakistan has a legitimate requirement for nuclear
power generation to meet the energy needs of our
expanding economy and our expanding industry. As a
responsible nuclear State, we will continue to seek
nuclear technology for power generation under
International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. We
cannot accept discrimination in the nuclear field.
Peace and stability in Afghanistan is in Pakistan’s
vital interest. It will assure tranquillity on our western
frontiers. It will also enable Pakistan to realize its
ambition of linking Central Asia and South Asia
through Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Afghanistan confronts complex security, political
and economic challenges, including a resurgent Taliban
that also threatens Pakistan’s efforts to combat
extremism and terrorism. The common challenge
imposes a joint responsibility on Pakistan, Afghanistan
and the coalition forces.
Problems in the border regions of Pakistan and
Afghanistan are compounded by the continuing
presence in Pakistan of over 3 million Afghan refugees,
some of them sympathetic to the Taliban. The
incentives offered by the international community to
the refugees for their voluntary return are minimal. A
serious international commitment is required to
facilitate their repatriation to their country.
The unfortunate history of our region has placed
Pakistan in the frontline of the global campaign against
terrorism. We cooperate daily with many countries,
including the United States and the United Kingdom.
Our cooperation has pre-empted several terrorist plots,
19 06-52731
such as the one uncovered recently to blow up airliners
flying from London. Over the past five years, Al-Qaida
has been significantly degraded as an organization in
our region.
While we confront terrorism our strategy must
seek to eliminate this phenomenon comprehensively.
We cannot do so unless we understand and address the
root causes of terrorism today. How are terrorists able
to find willing recruits, even among educated young
people, in advanced and democratic societies? The
reasons are clear. Across the Muslim world, old
conflicts and new campaigns of military intervention
have spawned a deep sense of desperation and
injustice. Each new battleground involving an Islamic
State has served as a new breeding ground for
extremists and terrorists. Indiscriminate bombings,
civilian casualties, torture, human rights abuses, racial
slurs and discrimination only add to the challenge of
defeating terrorism.
In my view, a two-pronged strategy, which I call
enlightened moderation, is required to address the
situation. That strategy envisages that, apart from
combating terrorism frontally, the international
community must undertake resolute efforts to resolve
the conflicts afflicting the Islamic world. Unless we
end the foreign occupation of Muslim countries and
suppression of Muslim peoples, terrorism and
extremism will continue to find recruits among
alienated Muslims in various parts of the world.
We also need to bridge, through dialogue and
understanding, the growing divide between the Islamic
and Western worlds. In particular, it is imperative to
end racial and religious discrimination against Muslims
and to prohibit the defamation of Islam. It is most
disappointing to see personalities of high standing
oblivious to Muslim sensitivities at these critical
moments.
The greatest challenge to global security, to the
campaign against terrorism, to the promotion of
harmony among civilizations and to the credibility of
the United Nations is the cauldron of conflict that is
the Middle East — exemplified by the latest Israeli
aggression against Lebanon. We hope that the
resolution painstakingly brokered in the Security
Council will lead to a rapid and complete Israeli
withdrawal and the restoration of Lebanon’s
sovereignty over its entire territory.
The attack on Lebanon has far-reaching
implications for the Middle East. The ability and
relevance of moderate forces to bring about a just
peace in the region has been put to a very severe test.
The world must, however, still support them to address
the festering problems of the region comprehensively
and fairly. It is time to end Israel’s conflicts with all its
neighbours. It is time, first and foremost, to end the
tragedy of Palestine. There is no doubt in our mind —
there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind — that that
lies at the core not only of tackling the problems of
Iraq and Afghanistan, but also of dealing with the
menaces of terrorism and extremism at their roots.
The confrontation over Iran’s nuclear programme
threatens further instability in this already inflamed
region. We are encouraged by the “Iran and 5 + 1”
negotiations and believe that this issue can be resolved
peacefully in a manner that accommodates the
legitimate rights and interests of all parties involved.
Resort to coercion and worse, the use of force, could
lead to grave consequences in the region and globally.
The dynamic economic performance of several
developing countries, especially in Asia, has
transformed the world’s geo-economic map. Yet, most
developing countries find that international trade and
financial structures are weighted against them. With
the Doha Round in the doldrums, new modalities must
be found so as to utilize the full potential of trade for
development. Similarly, the international financial
system should ensure a more equitable share of
international liquidity and investment for developing
countries.
Unless the activities of the United Nations
accommodate the concerns and priorities of its general
membership, the Organization risks losing its global
moral authority. The General Assembly should reassert
its Charter responsibilities, and the Security Council
should be reformed to make the activities of the
Council more democratic, transparent, inclusive and
accountable to the general membership. The reform of
the Security Council is of vital interest to every
Member State and must therefore be adopted by
consensus or by the widest possible agreement.
This important session of the Assembly will elect
the next Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Pakistan hopes that consensus will soon develop in the
Security Council and the Assembly on a qualified
candidate from Asia. Pakistan will extend its full
06-52731 20
support to the new Secretary-General, as we have done
to Mr. Kofi Annan, to build a United Nations that can
decisively advance the world towards the noble vision
of preventing the scourge of war and promoting better
standards of living for all peoples of the world in
freedom.