Kakar links peace in South Asia with resolution of Kashmir issue

Addressing 78th session of UN General Assembly, caretaker PM says India has evaded implementation of Security Council resolutions for decades.

NEW YORK: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar called for resolution of the longstanding issue of Jammu and Kashmir under the UNSC resolutions in order to have durable peace in South Asia.

He was addressing the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday. Mr Kakar said the resolution of the Kashmir dispute was the key to peace between Pakistan and India.

“Jammu and Kashmir dispute is one of the oldest issues on the agenda of Security Council. India has evaded implementation of the Security Council resolutions which call for final disposition of Jammu and Kashmir to be decided by its people through UN supervised plebiscite,” he added.

“Development depends on peace,” the prime minister said, adding: “Pakistan desires peaceful and productive relations with all our neighbours, including India.”

He called upon the international community to oppose state terrorism and address its root causes such as poverty, injustice and foreign occupation besides distinguishing genuine freedom struggles from terrorism.

Pakistan’s government is committed to rapid economic recovery, stabilize its foreign exchange reserves and currency, expand domestic revenues and mobilize significant domestic and external investment.

“We have established a Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) to expedite investment decisions with 28 projects identified in priority sectors – agriculture, mining, energy and IT – for implementation in collaboration with the country’s partners.” He said the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) had been initiated covering railway, infrastructure and manufacturing projects.

Pakistan, he added, also looked forward to the fulfillment of the climate change commitments made at COP28 by the developed world. The promise was to provide over $100 billion in annual climate finance, allocate at least half of such finance for adaptation in developing countries, operationalize the fund and funding arrangements for loss and damage and accelerate their carbon emission mitigation targets to “keep alive” the goal of restricting global warming to 1.5 degrees centigrade.

Mr Karar also said peace in Afghanistan was imperative for stability of Pakistan. He said Pakistan shares international community’s concerns with respect to Afghanistan, particularly rights of women and girls.

He, however, said Pakistan advocates continued humanitarian assistance to the Afghan population in which Afghan women and girls were the most vulnerable as well as support for the revival of the Afghan economy and implementation of connectivity projects with Central Asia.

Comments are closed.