Pakistan
Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan virtually addressed the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday.
The Pakistani PM commenced his speech by referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, its accompanying economic crisis, and the dangers of climate change. “The virus does not discriminate between nations and people. Nor do the catastrophes imposed by uncertain weather patterns,” Khan noted. He said these “common threats” not only “expose the fragility of the international system” but also “underscore the oneness of humanity.”
Saying that Pakistan’s ‘smart lockdown’ had saved lives and livelihoods, Khan outlined a three-pronged strategy to address the “triple crisis” of COVID-19, the economic downturn, and climate change. Firstly, he called for vaccine equity and said, “everyone, everywhere, must be vaccinated against Covid.” Next, he said that “adequate financing must be made available to developing countries.” Finally, he suggested that the world must “adopt clear investment strategies” to reduce poverty, create sustainability, and promote job growth.
Moreover, he blamed the world’s ruling elites for the “plunder of the developing world”, pointing to the increasing wealth gap between rich and poor countries. “What the East India Company did to India, the crooked ruling elites are doing to developing world—plundering the wealth and transferring to western capitals and offshore tax havens,” Khan said. “I fear a few ‘wealthy islands’ in the sea of poverty will also turn into a global calamity, like climate change,” he added.
Moving on to the topic of Islamophobia, Khan said it is a “pernicious phenomenon that we all need to combat collectively.” In this regard, Khan called on the UN Secretary-General to “convene a global dialogue on countering the rise of Islamophobia.”
Additionally, Khan said the “worst and most pervasive form of Islamophobia” is the “hate-filled” ideology of Hindutva, which is being “propagated by the fascist RSS-BJP regime.” Accusing India’s government of unleashing a “reign of fear and violence” against Muslims, Khan said that mob-lynching, pogroms, discriminatory laws, and the destruction of Muslim heritage and culture “are all part of this criminal enterprise.”
Next, he accused Indian security forces of undertaking “gross and systematic violations of human rights,” including illegal measures, increasing security presence, jailing Kashmiri leadership, imposing a clampdown on media, and suppressing peaceful protests. “This repression is accompanied by illegal efforts to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory and transform it from a Muslim majority into a Muslim minority,” he added.
Noting that these actions violated the UN Security Council resolutions and the Fourth Geneva Convention, Khan said India’s activities in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) “amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.” Additionally, he criticised the world’s “selective” approach to human rights. “Geopolitical considerations, or corporate interests, commercial interests often compel major powers to overlook the transgressions of their ‘affiliated’ countries,” Khan said.
While he stressed that “Pakistan desires peace with India,” Khan said this would only be possible “upon resolution of the J&K dispute, in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.” Khan pointed that the “onus remained on India” to create a meaningful engagement with Pakistan. He also called on India to reverse the “illegal” measures instituted in J&K since August 2019, stop human rights violations against Kashmiris, and halt demographic changes in the state.
Talking about the situation in Afghanistan, Khan rejected Western efforts to blame Pakistan for the ongoing crisis. “I want them all to know, the country that suffered the most, apart from Afghanistan, was Pakistan, when we joined the US War on Terror after 9/11,” he said.
The Pakistani PM urged the international community to “strengthen and stabilise” the current Afghan government for the sake of the Afghan people. If the world community incentivises them and encourages them to walk this talk [Taliban’s promises], it will be a win-win situation for everyone,” Khan concluded.
Meanwhile, exercising the right to respond, Indian diplomat Sneha Dubey retorted to Khan’s criticism of India’s actions in J&K by accusing Pakistan of harbouring terrorists. Dubey said Pakistan is an arsonist disguised as a firefighter. “Pakistan holds the ignoble record of hosting the largest number of terrorists proscribed by the UNSC. Osama bin Laden got shelter in Pakistan. Even today, Pakistan leadership glorifies him as a martyr,” she added.
Furthermore, she stressed that the entire union territories of J&K and Ladakh “were, are and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India,” including the areas that are under the “illegal occupation” of Pakistan. “We call upon Pakistan to immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation,” she said.
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India
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi opened his address to the Assembly by saying that India is the “Mother of Democracy” because it has “had a great tradition of democracy for thousands of years.” “Our diversity is the hallmark of our strong democracy,” Modi said, adding that India has dozens of languages, hundreds of dialects, different lifestyles, [and] cuisines.
Highlighting that India is “moving ahead on the path of integrated, equitable development,” Modi said the development “must be all-inclusive, all-touching, [and] all-pervading.” In this regard, he added that over 430 million Indians had been connected to the banking system, and more than 360 million people have insurance access. “By providing free treatment to more than 50 crore people, India has connected them with quality health service. India has made 30 million pucca houses; homeless families are now homeowners,” he said.
Talking about the COVID-19 pandemic, Modi said India is “dedicated to vaccination development and manufacturing despite limited resources.” He added that India had developed the world’s first DNA-based vaccine and is in the “final stages” of developing an mRNA vaccine. “Scientists of India are also engaged in the development of a nasal vaccine for corona. Realizing its responsibility towards humanity, India has once again started distributing the vaccine to the needy people of the world,” Modi noted.
Next, the Indian PM briefly touched upon the issues of Afghanistan and terrorism. “Countries using terrorism as a political tool have to understand that terrorism is an equally big threat to them,” Modi said. He added, “It is very important to ensure that the soil of Afghanistan is not used for spreading terrorism and terrorist attacks.” He said it was important to ensure that “no country tries to use the delicate situation there as a tool for its selfishness motives.”
Modi also talked about the progress India has been making in various fields, including science and technology, and underscored the role played by India in maintaining global peace and harmony. “When Indians progress, the development of the world also gets a boost. When India grows, the world grows. When India reforms, the world transforms,” he said.