Pakistan, 2002

I extend to you,

Mr. President, my felicitations on your election. I also

congratulate your predecessor, Dr. Han Seung-soo, for

his able stewardship of the preceding session of the

General Assembly.

We commend Secretary-General Kofi Annan 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 as members of the United Nations.

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 destabilize 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-Qaida 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, some quarters are unfortunately

utilizing the war against terrorism as a vehicle to

spread hatred against Islam and Muslims. Terrorism

has neither creed nor religion. In a globalized 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.

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's right to

self-determination and freedom are brutally suppressed

by foreign occupation, they may be driven to put up

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resistance by all means. Terrorist attacks must be

condemned, but acts of terrorism by individuals or

groups cannot 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 delegitimize 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

cannot 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 Security Council.

Despite India's provocations and threats over the

past year, 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-

defence 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, mutual withdrawal of forward-deployed

forces by both States; secondly, observance of a

ceasefire along the Line of Control in Kashmir; and,

finally, cessation of India's state terrorism against the

Kashmiri people. Simultaneously to 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

known desire for domination over South Asia and the

Indian Ocean. In the interest of regional and global

stability, this must be discouraged.

India's belligerence also reflects the chauvinistic

ideology of the Hindu extremist parties and

organizations. Rising Hindu fanaticism in India has

targeted Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and even the

scheduled-caste Hindus. Last February, an estimated

2,000 innocent Muslims were massacred and burned

alive in Gujarat with the complicity of the Bharatiya

Janata Party's state leaders. There must be

accountability for this massacre. The international

community must act to oppose extremism in India with

the same determination it has displayed in combating

terrorism, religious bigotry, ethnic cleansing and fascist

tendencies elsewhere in the world.

Even as Hindu fundamentalism is rising in India,

Pakistan is waging a successful struggle to restore its

traditions of a tolerant Islam. We are acting vigorously

to eradicate the sad legacy of the Afghanistan war:

religious extremism, drugs and guns. We in Pakistan

are determined to transform into reality the vision of

our founding father, the Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad 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, my Government has laid the

foundations of 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

exploitive 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 has also

become the first country to set up a human

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development fund, with the collaboration of the United

Nations Development Programme, and a national

volunteers corps for the achievement of the millennium

goals of poverty alleviation and human development.

In 30 days, we will hold national, provincial and

Senate elections, completing the process of restoring

true democracy in Pakistan.

We in Pakistan remain extremely happy with the

positive changes in Afghanistan after two decades of

conflict. We fully support President Hamid Karzai. We

appreciate the efforts of the Secretary-General and his

Special Representative, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, to bring

hope and peace to the long-suffering Afghan people.

We believe that faithful implementation of the Bonn

process and the Tokyo commitments is essential for

success. Ensuring credible security in Kabul and other

centres is of paramount importance. This was brought

home by the attempt made a few days ago to

assassinate President Karzai.

The international community must urgently

revive the Middle East peace process also to realize a

comprehensive and just peace on the basis of Security

Council resolutions and the principle of land for peace.

Pakistan supports the full and faithful

implementation of all Security Council resolutions.

In our globalizing yet divided world, the most

important war we must fight is the war against poverty.

The objectives of this war have been identified — at

the Millennium Summit, at Doha, Monterrey and

Johannesburg. We must implement the commitments

made in an integrated and coherent manner.

Let me state here that a pernicious aspect of the

international banking system is the stashing away in

secret accounts in developed countries of money

acquired illegally by corrupt elite from developing

countries. An international regime to interdict and

return illegally acquired wealth to the developing

countries will make a genuine contribution to the

reduction of corruption and poverty alleviation in those

countries.

Despite current differences among Governments,

people from both rich and poor nations are beginning

to embrace universal values and common goals:

avoiding war; ending poverty, hunger, disease,

discrimination and human rights violations; promoting

democracy; sharing technology; creating decent work

for all; and protecting the environment. We must

capture this growing spirit of global humanism to

advance the quest for global prosperity and universal

peace. This can be accomplished only by the United

Nations.

Our decisions and actions today will shape events

of the future. We must rid ourselves of forces of

intolerance and radicalism. We have to create a safer

world for our future generations — a world of peace

and conciliation, not one of conflict and tension.