In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful,
Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, ladies and gentlemen. I extend to you Mr. President my felicitations on your election. I also congratulate your predecessor Dr. Swing Suhan for his able stewardship of the preceding session of the General Assembly. We commend Secretary General Kofi Anan for his commitment and dedicated efforts in the pursuit of the Charter's purposes and principles. I also congratulate Switzerland and East Timor on their admission to membership of the United Nations.
Mr. President last year this Assembly met under the shadow of the terrorist attacks on New York our host city. The horror of that day galvanized the international community to combat this modern day evil which threatens to de-stabilize our societies. Pakistan is in the forefront of the fight against terrorism. We have made major sacrifices in this war. We have interdicted infiltration by Al Qaeda into Pakistan. We have arrested and deported foreign suspects found on our territory. We are determined not to allow anyone to use our soil for terrorist acts inside or outside Pakistan. However, Mr. President unfortunately some quarters are utilizing the war against terrorism as a vehicle to spread hatred against Islam and Muslims. Terrorism has no creed nor a religion. In our globalizing world, religious and cultural diversity should be a vehicle for complementary creativity and dynamism not the rationale for a new ideological or political confrontation. A sustained dialogue between the Islamic and western nations is essential to remove the veil of ignorance and prejudice and to promote harmony and cooperation. As a first step may I propose that the General Assembly consider the adoption of a declaration on religious and cultural understanding, harmony and cooperation.
Mr. President there is a need to address the root causes of terrorism. It is not religion, which impels a terrorist act; it is often a sense of frustration and powerlessness to redress persistent injustices. When a people right to self-determination and freedom are brutally suppressed by foreign occupation they may be driven to put up resistance by all means. Terrorist attacks must be condemned but acts of terrorism by individuals or groups can not be the justification to outlaw the just struggle of a people for self-determination and liberation from colonial or foreign occupation nor can it justify state terrorism. Misusing the rationale of war against terrorism India has sought to de-legitimize the Kashmiri freedom struggle, tarnish Pakistan with the brush of terrorism and drive a wedge between Pakistan and its coalition partners. Boasting of its coercive capability India has deployed about a million troops in battle formation against Pakistan. Such threatening and aggressive posturing will not resolve disputes. We in Pakistan can not be coerced or frightened into compromising our principled position on Kashmir. The conflict in occupied Kashmir is being waged by the Kashmiris themselves, no amount of external assistance could have inspired the Kashmiri people to sacrifice the lives of 80,000 of their youth and to sustain their struggle for decades against India�s occupation army. India�s planned elections in Kashmir will once again be rigged. Such elections under Indian occupation will not help peace; they may set it back, in fact. The people of Jammu and Kashmir must be allowed to exercise their right to determine their own future in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. Despite India�s provocations and threats over the past years Pakistan has acted with restraint and responsibility, we have advanced several peace proposals, they have all been spurned by India. Let me declare from this rostrum Pakistan will not start a conflict with India but let me also declare that if war is thrust upon us we shall exercise our right to self defense fully and very effectively.
Today, peace in South Asia is hostage to one accident, one act of terrorism, one strategic miscalculation by India. In this dangerous situation crisis management should not be allowed to become a substitute for conflict resolution. The steps required to avoid a conflict and advance peace in South Asia are clear. First of all mutual withdrawal of forward deployed forces by both the states. Secondly, observance of a cease fire along the line of control in Kashmir and finally cessation of India�s state terrorism against the Kashmiri people and simultaneously with all this a dialogue must be resumed between India and Pakistan. The structure for such a dialogue was agreed between Prime Minister Vajpayee and myself at Agra. The Kashmiris should be fully associated with the dialogue on Kashmir and should be allowed to travel freely to Pakistan and Azad Kashmir. To ensure sustainable peace and stability in South Asia a Kashmir solution should be accompanied by agreed measures for nuclear restraint and a conventional arms balance between India and Pakistan. India�s ongoing massive military build up reflects its own desire for domination over South Asia and the Indian Ocean. In the interest of regional and global stability this must be discouraged.
Mr. President, India�s belligerence also reflects the chauvinistic ideology of the Hindu extremist parties and organizations. Rising fanaticism in India has targeted Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and even the scheduled cast Hindus. Last February an estimated 2,000 innocent Muslims were massacred and burnt alive in Gujrat with the complicity of the BJP State leaders. There must be accountability for this massacre. The international Community must act to oppose extremism in India with the same determination it displayed in combating terrorism, religious bigotry, ethnic cleansing and facile tendencies elsewhere in the world. Even as fundamentalism is rising in India, Pakistan is waging a successful struggle to restore its traditions of tolerant Islam. We are acting vigorously to eradicate the sad legacy of the Afghanistan war i.e., religious extremism, drugs and guns. We in Pakistan are determined to transform into reality the vision of our founding father the Quaid �e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah for a progressive, modern, democratic Islamic State. We wish to play a constructive role in promoting peace and prosperity in South Asia, Central Asia and the Gulf region. In three short years, Mr. President my government has laid the foundations for sustainable development and sustainable democracy in Pakistan. We have empowered the people by devolving decision making to the grass roots level. We have improved human rights, virtually eliminated exploitative child labour and empowered the women of Pakistan. We have rationalized economic policies and despite internal and external shocks set Pakistan on the path of sustained economic growth. Pakistan also has become the first country to set up a human development fund with the collaboration of UNDP and the National Volunteers Corps for the achievement of the millennium goals of poverty alleviation and human development.