Pakistan, 2009

I am honoured to return to

this chamber of hope, peace and cooperation. I wish to

convey the warm greetings of the people of Pakistan.

We are delighted to see you, Mr. President, presiding

over the General Assembly. The high ideals of the

United Nations have inspired our vision of a global

society that is based on peace and justice, freedom and

human rights, equality and equal opportunity, freedom

from want and hunger, tolerance and harmony — a

global society that believes in the sovereign equality of

nations large and small, and that promotes truth and

reconciliation.

On behalf of the people of Pakistan, I assure you,

Mr. President, of our cooperation in fashioning a safer

and better world in which all children — yours and

mine — shall live in peace and harmony. This is a

world in which we shall all depend on one another. It

demands a return to the path of the United Nations. It

calls for reforming the United Nations on the principles

of equality and consensus building.

In Pakistan, the will of the people has prevailed.

Our people have witnessed a profound democratic

transformation. We have entered a new era of

democracy, the rule of law and human rights.

Democracy in Pakistan is of great importance not only

to our country, but also to our region and the world.

Pakistan has struggled hard for democracy. My late

wife, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, led the fight

for democracy and laid down her life for it. Following

in the footsteps of her great father, Shaheed Zulfikar

Ali Bhutto, she made the ultimate sacrifice so that our

nation might live in democracy. We are now following

in her footsteps. I, my party, my people and Pakistan’s

democracy are grateful to the international community

and to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for constituting

an international commission of investigation into her

assassination. We are confident that the commission

will bring out all the dimensions of her life, work and

tragic assassination.

The world supports our struggle for democracy,

and we are grateful for that support. Democracy in

Pakistan is beginning to achieve successes in the fight

against militancy. The real challenge now is to make

democracy sustainable, and indeed irreversible. This

requires that democracy should be able to deliver. It

should meet the aspirations of our people to progress

and prosperity. It must give our people peace and

stability.

Unfortunately, our neighbourhood has witnessed

decades of conflict. Pakistan has suffered greatly from

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terrorism and religious extremism. Terrorism and

extremism were not previously known to our society

and culture. Religious extremism entered our society

and the region when we all in the free world decided to

confront a rival ideology. The policy was based on the

exploitation of religion to motivate Muslims around the

world to wage jihad. It was a policy whereby jihadi

leaders were referred to as the moral equivalents of

George Washington. It was a policy that allowed

warlords and criminals to destroy civilizations to come.

The virus multiplied and has affected the world.

To eliminate militancy we must strike at its roots.

Surgery alone will not be enough. We need to address

the causes of deprivation, poverty and illiteracy. We

need to adopt dialogue, development and a wise use of

force as our strategy.

Pakistan has firmly responded to the challenges

of extremism and militancy. Democracy has given our

people ownership of the fight against terrorism. Today,

our nation stands fully united in this struggle. Our law

enforcement agencies have, within a short span of

time, cleared a large area in Malakand of militants. Of

the more than 2.5 million civilians who were forced to

leave their homes, about 2 million were hosted by their

relatives and friends. I salute the host families.

Democracy and political ownership of the war have

proved to be the chief weapons in the fight against

militancy. In the short span of 10 weeks, most of the

internally dislocated have returned to their homes. We

are now engaged in rebuilding their lives.

Pakistan appreciates the international community’s

support and understanding of our efforts. We urge the

international community to further reinforce this

support. We are determined to eliminate terrorism and

extremism from our territory. To that end, the early

return of peace and stability in Afghanistan is critical.

The flow of weapons across the region must stop. The

funding and support to militants by drug barons and

other elements must stop.

We also believe that regional cooperation against

terrorism and extremism holds great promise. We

emphasize regional efforts for peace and stability.

Pakistan will continue to work with Afghanistan and

the international community for the early restoration of

peace and stability in that country. Pakistan has hosted

almost 3 million Afghan refugees for the past three

decades. We have been providing for them on our own.

We call upon the world to help in the safe return of the

refugees to their homes.

Pakistan’s democracy has begun to deliver. We

are doing more in self-interest. We urge the world’s

democracies to do more for the peace and development

of the people affected by militancy and terror. We need

to create economic opportunities for our people. We

urge our friends and partners to help Pakistan by

providing market access for the economic revival and

well-being of their own people.

Pakistan desires friendly relations with India. We

believe that dialogue is the only way forward. The

absence of dialogue leads to tensions that must be

avoided. We look forward to the resumption of the

composite dialogue process. We seek a peaceful

resolution of all outstanding issues with India.

Meaningful progress towards a resolution of the

Kashmir dispute is necessary for durable peace and

stability in South Asia.

Pakistan also supports the rights of the

Palestinian people as guaranteed in several United

Nations resolutions. Durable peace in the Middle East

requires that the issue of Palestine be addressed

meaningfully.

We also call for the immediate release of Aung

San Suu Kyi.

All nations seek security. Peace and security are

closely linked. Equal security for all is important. We

support all efforts for arms control, disarmament and

non-proliferation. The principle of equal security is of

fundamental importance for achieving those objectives.

Imbalances in security, especially at the regional level,

need to be redressed. Pakistan will continue to play a

constructive role in promoting conflict resolution and

restraint in South Asia and in promoting initiatives on

nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation on the basis

of non-discrimination.

Pakistan’s priority is economic development. We

wish to build on our internal strengths. In this effort we

seek partnerships. We seek to develop a win-win

situation. We are engaged in economic revival by

developing our agriculture, building mega-hydro

projects, initiating water conservation projects,

undertaking infrastructure projects, promoting regional

trade and cooperation and encouraging, beyond

Government, the corporate sector in development. We

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need to develop a framework for cooperation that will

deliver quickly.

In overcoming the challenges faced by the world,

the United Nations has a central role to play. Guided by

its principles and the high ideals in its Charter, the

United Nations is destined to succeed. A democratic

Pakistan will continue to uphold the ideals and values

of the United Nations. Together we shall succeed. In

the words of my leader and martyred wife Shaheed

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, “time, justice and the forces

of history are on our side”.