The Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Ms Hina Rabbani Khar has said that Pakistan attaches the highest importance to promoting the goals of peace, security and stability in the world. In our own region we have relentlessly endeavoured towards creating an environment of shared prosperity and peace.
Addressing the UN General Assembly, on behalf of Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, she said that a democratic, progressive and prosperous Pakistan embedded in a stable, secure and prosperous region guides the framework of our foreign policy and could yield enormous benefits to not only the peoples of our region but of the world. “We have reached out to our immediate neighbours with a sincere desire to join hands in bringing about durable peace and development, by a win-win approach”, she added.
Hina Rabbani Khar said, “Our foreign policy is one of friendliness and goodwill towards the nations of the world. We do not cherish aggressive designs against any country or nation. We believe in the principle of honesty and fair play in national and international dealings and are prepared to make our utmost contribution to the promotion of peace and prosperity among the nations of the world. Pakistan will never be found lacking in extending its material and moral support to the oppressed and suppressed peoples of the world, and in upholding the principles of the United Nations Charter.”
She said that at this session of the General Assembly, Pakistan is seeking election to a seat on the Security Council. “In soliciting your support, I wish to assure you that we would discharge our responsibilities with utmost dedication to the high ideals and principles of the United Nations”, she maintained.
She said both Pakistan and India are now engaged in a substantive dialogue process. “A dialogue process that we in Pakistan hope will be uninterrupted and uninterruptable. We certainly intend to make this engagement fruitful and premise it on the promise of a mutually rewarding enterprise that would enable us to optimally avail the complementarities that exist”, she maintained.
She said that the reality of a nuclearised South Asia, imposes on both Pakistan and India, the onerous responsibility to work together for creating mutual confidence, avoiding an arms race, and enhancing strategic stability. We look forward to moving in this direction in the dialogue process.
“Pakistan is also firmly committed to promoting stability and peace in Afghanistan. We respect and support the efforts of the Government of Afghanistan under the leadership of President Karzai for reconciliation and peace”, the foreign minister added.
She said Pakistan strongly condemn the recent terror attacks in Kabul in which many precious lives were lost. She also expressed sympathy with our brothers and sisters and the leadership of Afghanistan on the tragic assassination of Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani, former President and Chairman of the Afghan High Peace Council, adding that such cowardly attacks would never succeed in deterring our proud Afghan brothers and sisters from realizing the noble goal of reconciliation and peace.
Hina said that Pakistan fully supported an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned inclusive process of reconciliation and peace in Afghanistan. We want to see Afghanistan as a united, independent and sovereign state. We urge all concerned to join the reconciliation process. We also call for a de-escalation and cessation of violence.
Regarding the Kashmir dispute, the foreign minister said that Pakistan will support the human rights of Kashmiris. “We will speak in support of the Palestinians. We will educate our children. We will protect our children. We will face any and all challenges with determination and faith. Most of all, we will be a peaceful and prosperous society. There will be challenges, but inshaAllah, we will overcome them”, she maintained.
She said Pakistan wants peaceful resolutions of all outstanding issues including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, which is among the oldest on the agenda of the United Nations and the subject of several Security Council resolutions. A peaceful resolution that accords fully with the aspirations of the Kashmiri’s, is a sine qua non for durable stability.
The foreign minister said, “Pakistan believes in the promise of the United Nations -- a world free from the scourge of war; a world governed by rules and norms of civility, of decency, of good will; creating a better future for the peoples of the world; inter-state conduct premised on the respect for the immutable principles of the United Nations. We must ensure that our United Nations is the best representation of the aspirations of our peoples.”
She said Pakistan’s oldest spiritual traditions and most beloved poets and peers have taught us there can be no progress where the mind is divorced from the heart. Faith in the United Nations is a manifestation of the best rational traditions, and the most cherished traditions of idealism and believing in something. We believe in the UN system. The spirit of the United Nations must permeate all our endeavours. The peoples of the world await the advent of the true age of the United Nations. We must reassert our promise to deliver it.
She said this year again, heavy monsoon rains has caused widespread flooding and millions have been affected. Human and economic losses as well as the pressing requirements of relief and rehabilitation obliged us to seek international assistance. We again thank you for your support and solidarity.
The Pakistani people continue to consistently demonstrate their immense reservoir of courage, forbearance and generosity. InshaAllah, we shall overcome this misfortune through the same fortitude and resilience that our people have been blessed with, Hina Rabbani Khar maintained.
She said the road ahead for peace in Afghanistan and our region as a whole is full of challenges. “The complexity of the situation and the ground dynamics need to be analysed objectively and carefully. Clarity and strategic coherence, especially among Afghanistan, United States and Pakistan is of utmost importance. It is for this reason that we attach importance to the work of the Trilateral Core Group. We also attach considerable importance to the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Commission for Peace and Reconciliation”, she said.
The foreign minister said Pakistan has always upheld the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to an independent homeland with Al Quds Al Sharif as its capital. I would like to reaffirm our principled position. President Mahmoud Abbas made an historic and memorable case for his people. “We stand by him and the Palestinian people. We stand by our brothers and sisters. And we agree: This really is not, sustainable, anymore. We support the quest of the State of Palestine for membership in the United Nations”, she added.
She said Pakistan is keenly aware about the threat terrorism poses to Pakistan, to Pakistan neighbours, or to the rest of the world. 30,000 innocent Pakistanis have been killed—men, women and children. The ever valiant Pakistani armed forces have defended Pakistan, and the rest of the world at the highest cost. Our troops have laid down 6,532 shuhada, or martyrs. 19,190 of our strongest, bravest and most honor-worthy boys have suffered injuries. And it does not stop there.
“We have seen 3,629 of our police and paramilitary personnel embrace shahadat, or martyrdom. 10,720 of these men and women of the police and paramilitary services have been injured, since 2002. The grieving mothers, daughters, sisters and wives of these brave men and women are a constant reminder of our need to be be vigiliant and to fight the menace of terrorism”, she elaborated.
She said that Pakistan’s most popular leader, Shaheed Mohatarma Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated in 2007. Numerous politicians have lost sons and brothers and fathers at the hands of terrorists. “Our streets are filled with armed police posts. We cannot enter our parks, or shopping centers, or churches or mosques without being searched and frisked. Terrorists have attacked our military installations, attacked the gravesites of our spiritual elders, attacked our minorities and attacked the very idea of Pakistan. If I began recounting Pakistan’s sacrifices and Pakistan’s suffering, I would keep you here till next September. We do not take terrorism lightly. We cannot. We have suffered far too much”, she deplored.
She said, “Our nation is united in its determination to eliminate the spectre of terrorism from our soil, from our region and the world. It is important to enhance international cooperation to totally obliterate terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”
Our resolve is inspired by Allama Mohammed Iqbal, the legendary poet-philosopher to whom Pakistan owes a debt of gratitude. Iqbal said:
Shaheen kabhi parwaz say thak kar nahi girta…
Purdam hai agar tuu tau nahi khatra-e-uftaad ...
(The eagle does not fall from its soaring height,
If you have the will there is nothing to fear from adversity)
She said that notable success against Al-Qaeda and its affiliates has been registered in recent years. It is well known that following the Tora Bora bombing and consequent dispersal of Al Qaida, it was Pakistan’s intelligence and security agencies that interdicted a large number of Al Qaida operatives. Very recently, Yousuf Al Mauritani, the Chief Operative of Al-Qaeda was arrested in a joint ISI and CIA operation, she said.
She said that despite our limited capacity and other constraints, we have done all we can for the sake of realizing the vision of a bright future for our people and the peoples of Afghanistan and of the region. “We have actively advocated and worked for closer regional economic integration. We believe that without prioritizing development and creating win-win scenarios in terms of mutually beneficial joint ventures in connectivity, infrastructure, energy and trade, we cannot succeed in changing the picture. We need to give hope and provide a silver lining to those who have not seen peace for three generations, and have only taken mercenarism and guns as a means of livelihood”, she maintained.
Pakistan’s commitment to eliminating terror and militancy is irrevocable. We believe that this warrants a comprehensive approach not only to deal with violence but also its root causes. This requires enhancing international cooperation in multiple domains”, the foreign minister added.
She said Pakistan supports initiatives to strengthen the United Nations. However it is important not to start anything that proves divisive or has the potential to unravel the essential pillars of the UN. The process of Security Council reforms must be worked in a manner that will reinforce the confidence of the peoples of the world in this body and enhance its credibility and effectiveness, she stressed.
Hina said Pakistan attaches high importance to UN Peacekeeping functions and is a major troop contributor to the UN Peacekeeping. Pakistan has consistently been among the top UN peacekeeping contributors for many years. We have over 10,000 troops in the UN Blue Helmets.
“We also attach importance to the United Nations work in the field of disarmament and non proliferation. Our collective endeavours in these fields could best be effective if we could enhance security, for all, and pursue approaches that are not selective or discriminatory. Normative work must be premised on principles”, she elaborated.
She lauded the work of the United Nations in multiple domains. The specialized organizations, bodies and institutions are veritable examples of accomplishing shared goals and broadening vistas of cooperation, she added.
She Pakistan played a leadership role in conceiving and piloting the UN’s Delivering as One agenda. This is a potentially vital informant to global development, and to the aid effectiveness. Despite the Paris Declaration and its reaffirmation at Accra, we have a long way to go. The One UN pilot exercise in Pakistan has struggled to achieve the lofty goals it set for itself, but we continue to invest hope in its eventual success.
She said at the international level, we are confident that UN provides the best global forum, that is fully equipped to enhance understanding and good will between all members of the international community.
Hina said as a democratic country, committed firmly to the ideals, values, and principles of the United Nations, Pakistan will continue to do its best for the cause of global peace and prosperity. Under the leadership of President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, the Pakistani nation is moving ahead confident of itself and its enormous capabilities, she maintained.
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکِستان) is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west,India in the east and China in the far northeast.[7] Tajikistan also lies very close to Pakistan but is separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor. Strategically, Pakistan is located in a position between the important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and the greater Middle East.[8]
The region forming modern Pakistan was the site of several ancient cultures including theneolithic Mehrgarh and the bronze era Indus Valley Civilisation. Subsequently it was the recipient of Hindu, Persian, Indo-Greek, Islamic, Turco-Mongol, and Sikh cultures through several invasions and/or settlements. As a result the area has remained a part of numerous empires and dynasties including the Indian empires, Persian empires, Arab caliphates, Mongol,Mughal, Sikh and British Empire. Pakistan gained independence from the British Empire in 1947 after a struggle for independence, led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, that sought the partition of India and the creation of an independent state for the Muslim majority populations of the eastern and western regions of British India.[9] With the adoption of its constitution in 1956, Pakistan became an Islamic republic.[10] In 1971, an armed conflict in East Pakistan resulted in the creation of Bangladesh.[11]
Pakistan is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of four provinces and four federal territories. With over 170 million people, it is the sixth most populous country in the world[2] and has the second largest Muslim population after Indonesia.[12] It is an ethnically andlinguistically diverse country with a similar variation in its geography and wildlife. With a semi-industrialized economy, it is the 27th largest in the world in terms of purchasing power. Since gaining independence, Pakistan's history has been characterised by periods of military rule,political instability and conflicts with neighbouring India. The country faces challenging problems including terrorism, poverty, illiteracy and corruption.
Pakistan has the seventh largest standing armed force and is the only Muslim-majority nation to possess nuclear weapons. It is designated as a major non-NATO ally of the United States and a strategic ally of China.[13][14] It is a founding member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (now the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation)[15] and a member of the United Nations,[16] Commonwealth of Nations,[17] Next Eleven economies and the G20 developing nations.
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