Pakistan must vacate PoK, Jaishankar tells 79th UNGA

New York: India today lambasted Pakistan for once again raking up the Kashmir issue at the General Debate of the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), and made it “perfectly clear” that the issue to be resolved between the two countries was “only the vacation of illegally occupied Indian territory [read Pakistan-occupied Kashmir] by Pakistan”, besides the abandonment of Pakistan’s “longstanding attachment to terrorism”. 

Spelling out India’s stand on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, India’s External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmayam Jaishankar told the 79th UNGA on September 28, 2024, that Pakistan’s cross-border terrorism policy will never succeed and can have no expectation of impunity. “On the contrary, actions will certainly have consequences,” he declared.

In the same breadth Dr Jaishankar also obliquely hit out at Pakistan’s close ally China, and without naming Beijing, he said that the “sanctioning of global terrorists by the United Nations should not be impeded for political reasons” [by China]. “The UN is a testimony to the agreed principles and shared objectives of the world order. Respect for international law and commitments are among the foremost in that regard. If we are to ensure global security and stability, then it is essential that those who seek to lead, set the right example. Nor can we countenance egregious violations of our basic tenets,” he added. “Terrorism is antithetical of everything that the world stands for. All its forms and manifestations must be resolutely opposed,” he asserted.

Just a day earlier, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif used the UNGA forum again to call for the reversal of the “Indian unilateral and illegal measures of August 5, 2019, [revocation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir] to enter into a dialogue for a peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute”. He went on to “warn” the world community that the “illegal occupation of Palestine and Kashmir is creating a “fresh hell” every day…”

Without mincing words, Dr Jaishankar termed Sharif’s assertions as “bizarre” and called Pakistan a “dysfunctional nation” which was coveting the lands of others”. It made it loud and clear that Pakistan “must be exposed and must be countered”.

Pakistan’s misdeeds, Dr Jaishankar said, affect others as well, especially the neighbourhood. “Many countries get left behind due to circumstances beyond their control. But some make conscious choices with disastrous consequences. A premier example is our neighbour, Pakistan,” he asserted. He added: “When this polity instils such fanaticism among its people, its GDP can only be measured in terms of radicalization and its exports in the form of terrorism. Today, we see the ills it sought to visit on others consume its own society. It can’t blame the world; this is only karma.”

Referring to the world, which stands “fractious, polarized and frustrated”, Dr Jaishankar noted that “We are gathered here at a difficult time…[when] conversations have become difficult; agreements even more so”.  He added, “This is surely not what the founders of the United Nations would have wanted of us”, and “strongly” supported the 79th UNGA’s theme of ‘Leaving no one behind’.

“Leaving no one behind means advancing peace, ensuring sustainable development and strengthening human dignity. This cannot be delivered by a UN paralyzed when faced with division, conflict, terrorism and violence. Nor can it be advanced if access to food, fuel and fertilizer is jeopardized,” he said.

“If the world is in such a state, this body must ask itself: how has this come to pass? The problems arise from a combination of structural shortcomings, political calculations, naked self-interest and yes, disregard for those left behind. It is natural to feel overwhelmed by what we confront now. After all, there are so many dimensions, different moving parts, issues of the day and the changing landscape. But every change must begin somewhere. And there is no better place than where it all started. We, the members of the United Nations, must now seriously and purposefully address ourselves to that task. Not because it is a competition for influence or a squabble for positions. But because, if we carry on like this, the state of the world is only going to get worse. And that could mean that more of us are going to be left behind,” he told the 79th UNGA.

According to Dr Jaishankar, an important cause of many getting left behind was the unfairness of the current globalization model. “Over-concentration of production has hollowed out many economies, impacting their employment and social stability,” he said, and added, “Democratizing global production, building resilient supply chains, ensuring trusted digital services, and espousing an open-source culture, all these promote widespread prosperity. There are economic answers, just as there are social ones”.

“Whether it is the war in Ukraine or the conflict in Gaza, the international community seeks urgent solutions. These sentiments must be acknowledged and acted upon,” he stressed.

– global bihari bureau