ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will deliver an aggressive speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) this week – targeting India, sources said.
Senior officials at the foreign ministry told The Nation that the PM’s speech has been prepared, keeping in view India’s interference in Pakistan and New Delhi’s state-sponsored terror in Kashmir.
The PM will also stress the need to resolve the Afghan issue through dialogue as there was no military solution to the problem, said an official.
“PM Abbasi will also denounce the use of drones by the United States to strike inside Pakistan which is a violation of our sovereignty. It will be an aggressive speech but Pakistan won’t go too far against the US. The PM will invite world attention towards India’s state-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir and the region,” he said.
The prime minister will lead the Pakistani delegation at the 72nd session of the UNGA in New York from today (September 18). He is expected to deliver his speech on September 21. In a statement, the Foreign Office said that Abbasi will hold bilateral meetings with a number of world leaders and the Secretary-General of the United Nations on the sidelines of the UNGA.
It said that the prime minister will address the Council on Foreign Relations and will interact with the United States Pakistan Business Council. The prime minister will also have extensive interaction with the media. There will also be a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir.
Last week, PM Abbasi said that Pakistan supported peace and stability in Afghanistan. He asked Afghanistan to take practical steps for the elimination of safe havens of terrorists on its soil. The premier urged the US to respect Pakistan’s sovereignty as drone attacks were counter-productive.
Earlier, Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said that the confessions of convicted Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav were a testimony to the Indian involvement in perpetrating terrorism and terror financing in Pakistan.
He said that India had been caught red-handed with irrefutable evidence in a case in which its state institutions and state actors were involved in terrorism, terror-financing and subversive activities in a sovereign state.
Another official at the foreign ministry said PM Abbasi will emphasize Pakistan’s point of view on the Afghan issue, the new US policy for South Asia and India’s attempts to destabilize Pakistan.
“All these issues have been included in the speech. He will also discuss these points with the leaders on the sidelines of the UNGA,” the official told The Nation.
The PM, he said, will also remind the world of Pakistan’s sacrifices in the war on terror.
International Relations expert Dr Pervez Iqbal Cheema said that the US was supporting India and destabilizing the balance of power in South Asia. He said that India had become a threat to regional peace and stability. “On the other hand, the US is providing advanced military technology and equipment to India which will definitely be used against Pakistan,” he said.
India, he said, was violating international laws with the backing of the US and promoting terrorism in the region. “The PM should take up this issue at the UNGA,” he added.
Defence analyst Maj-Gen (retd) Muhammad Farooq Malik said that Washington’s double standards will ruin peace efforts in the region.
“They are trying to discredit us. We have achieved more than any other country in the war on terror. The fact is that the US has failed in Afghanistan and now it is blaming Pakistan. They are supporting India against us. India is in return sending intelligence agents to Pakistan to create the law and order situation,” he added.
Former ambassador Abida Hussain said that PM Abbasi was expected to expose India’s state-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir in his UNGA address.
“UNGA sessions have always been very important. There are so many world leaders present and we can convey our message in one sitting. The prime minister should talk about Pakistan’s role in the fight against terrorism, Kashmir, and the regional issues,” she said.