Pakistan, 2003

It is with great pleasure

that I extend to you, Mr. President, our warmest

felicitations on your election. I also congratulate your

predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Jan Kavan, for his

effective leadership during the previous session of the

General Assembly.

We support Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s

efforts to infuse a new sense of mission into the United

Nations and maintain the centrality of its role in the

promotion of global peace and security. We pay tribute

to the memory of Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello and the

other United Nations officials who sacrificed their lives

in the service of peace.

When the Berlin Wall collapsed, hopes revived

for a new age of cooperation and peace, free from

ideological confrontations. Sadly, those hopes were

dashed — by ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, and then in

Kosovo; by the failure to end the occupation of

Palestine, leading to the revived intifada against Israeli

occupation; by the brutal suppression of the Kashmiri’s

demand for self-determination and freedom from

Indian occupation; by the unending war in Afghanistan

and the international neglect which created a climate in

which extremism and terrorism could breed; and by the

series of international financial crises and the rise of

poverty as a consequence of unequal economic

globalization.

The terrible terrorist atrocity of 11 September

2001 jolted the foundations of the international system.

The response has weakened al Qaeda, but it has not

eliminated its associates. Terrorists have struck

repeatedly around the world — in Indonesia, Tunisia,

Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kenya and my country,

Pakistan.

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The tragedy of 11 September 2001 transformed

security policies and changed geopolitical calculations.

Pakistan took a strategic decision, based on our

principles of humanity and national interest, to support

the war on terrorism. There should be no doubt

whatsoever about intentions. Our actions speak louder

than words. Our capabilities were limited, but they

have been progressively improved. We are acting

against al Qaeda and its associates very effectively. We

have also acted against other organizations or groups

involved in any form of terrorism. Pakistan will remain

at the forefront of the war on terrorism.

The war against terrorism must be fought

comprehensively, on a global front, with vision and

understanding. It should not erode the moral values of

our societies. It must not be hijacked by those who

seek to use it as an excuse to suppress other peoples.

It must not be allowed to engender a clash of

civilizations — a clash between Islam and the West.

It is unfortunate that great religions — which

should be a source of hope, tolerance and peace — are

seen as being pitted against each other. Many Muslims

believe their eternal faith is being demonized. They see

Muslim peoples being cruelly suppressed for

demanding freedom and equality, or targeted for

discrimination and worse. On the other hand, the West

perceives the Islamic world as volatile and hostile, bent

upon striking at Western values. Muslims are often

seen as fanatics, extremists and terrorists.

Against the background of this volatile milieu,

the recent war in Iraq evoked negative reactions in

most Arab and Islamic countries.

This moment in history calls for reflection,

introspection and action. The thesis of a clash of

civilizations is a travesty. We must bridge the gulf of

misunderstanding between Islam and the West. We

must be the catalysts of change, not the prophets of

doom.

Islam is a faith of peace, harmony and justice.

Islam is democracy in action. It upholds human rights,

social equality, non-discrimination and freedom of

speech. The protection of minorities is an article of

faith in Islam. It does not discriminate on the basis of

colour, caste, creed or religion. Our faith is dynamic,

promoting constant renewal and adaptation, through

the process of ijtihad — interpretation through

consultation. Islam’s vision is not trapped in any one

period of history; it is modern and futuristic. Islam

must not be confused with the narrow vision of a few

extremists.

I believe the way forward is to adopt a two-

pronged — or double-pincer — strategy to build

harmony, promote moderation, oppose extremism and

ensure justice. I call this the strategy of enlightened

moderation.

On the one hand, Muslim nations must assume

their responsibility for internal reform and renewal.

They are at the crossroads. They must eschew

extremism and confrontation. They must embrace the

march of human civilization. They must address the

deficits in their social and economic development.

They must seek science and technology, higher

education and human resource development.

The international community — especially the

advanced countries of the West — must deliver the

other pincer in this strategy of enlightened moderation.

They can do so by helping to resolve political disputes

and situations in which Muslim peoples are being

suppressed, such as in Palestine and Kashmir; by

rejecting attempts to equate terrorism with Islam; and

by assisting the Muslim world in poverty alleviation

and in socio-economic development. The United

Nations itself has a crucial role to play in the

conception and execution of the strategy of enlightened

moderation.

In that context, it is clear that a consensus must

be quickly developed at the United Nations on ways to

restore Iraq’s stability, security and sovereignty. Iraq

cannot be allowed to remain an open wound. That

would have an impact on the region and could inject a

new dimension into the campaign against terrorism and

extremism. The consensus that is developed must

enable the Iraqi people, through an inclusive political

process, to determine the sequence of steps leading to a

fully representative Iraqi Government and to an end to

occupation. The Iraqi people should assume control of

their resources and of their political destiny as soon as

possible. They must receive the full support of the

international community, including Iraq’s neighbours

and the Arab and the Islamic countries, in building

security and in reconstructing their country. Pakistan

would be prepared to help in a collective United-

Nations-sanctioned Arab and Islamic effort to help the

Iraqi people, if they themselves wish us to do so.

Endeavours to stabilize Iraq will be enhanced by

progress in promoting peace with justice in the Middle

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East. Hopes for a just and comprehensive peace were

aroused earlier this year by the Quartet’s road map;

those hopes have been progressively dimmed. But

failure is not an option at all. The fate of the

Palestinian people is the principal factor in determining

public and political perceptions in the entire Islamic

world. It is only progress towards a just peace that can

marginalize the extremists. Therefore, we must revive

faithful implementation of the road map and must

realize the vision of two States, Palestine and Israel,

living side by side in peace within recognized

boundaries.

We must ensure successful implementation of the

Bonn process in Afghanistan. The international

stabilization force should be expanded and enlarged to

ensure security and control over all parts of

Afghanistan by President Karzai’s Government.

Pakistan will continue to contribute to interdicting and

arresting al Qaeda and associated terrorists. We will

further intensify our economic cooperation with

Afghanistan. It is essential that Afghanistan’s territory

not be used by third countries for interference or for

terrorism against Afghanistan’s neighbours.

Jammu and Kashmir has been rightly described as

the most dangerous dispute in the world. A just

solution of that dispute holds the key to peace and

security in South Asia. I am glad that India has stepped

back from its dangerous and failed experiment in

coercive diplomacy last year. Despite some

improvement in the political atmosphere, India

continues to suppress the legitimate struggle of the

Kashmiri people to exercise their right of self-

determination, in accordance with Security Council

resolutions. It refuses Pakistan’s offers of dialogue to

address and resolve the Kashmir dispute once and for

all.

India cites cross-border terrorism in order to

reject dialogue. It knows full well that the Kashmiri

struggle is indigenous. India seeks to exploit the

international anti-terrorist sentiment after 11 September

to delegitimize the Kashmiri freedom struggle. On the

contrary, it is India which violates international law by

refusing to implement Security Council resolutions and

by perpetrating gross and consistent violations of

human rights in Kashmir.

Once again, from this rostrum, I invite India to

join Pakistan in a sustained dialogue to resolve the

Kashmir dispute. I am convinced that, with goodwill,

we can find a just solution which is acceptable to India,

to Pakistan and, above all, to the people of Kashmir. I

also invite India, jointly with Pakistan, to observe a

complete ceasefire along the Line of Control in

Kashmir.

Pakistan would also be prepared to encourage a

general cessation of violence within Kashmir involving

reciprocal obligations and restraints on Indian forces

and on the Kashmir freedom movement. And, may I

add, if India is genuinely concerned about infiltration

across the Line of Control, we ask that it agree to a

viable mechanism to monitor such infiltration on both

sides of the Line. The United Nations Military

Observer Group in India and Pakistan could be

enlarged for that very purpose.

Apart from addressing Kashmir, sustainable

security in South Asia requires India and Pakistan to

institute measures to ensure mutual nuclear restraint

and a conventional-arms balance. Unfortunately, India

has embarked on a massive build-up of its conventional

and non-conventional military capabilities — advanced

offensive aircraft, ballistic and cruise missiles, anti-

ballistic-missile systems, nuclear submarines and an

aircraft carrier. That will destabilize South Asia and

erode strategic deterrence. Those Powers which desire

peace, stability and security in South Asia, and oppose

the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, must

review their decisions to offer such major strategic-

weapons systems to India. They must contribute to

maintaining arms restraint and a military balance in

South Asia.

The crises and conflicts of the past decade have

enhanced, not diminished, the relevance of the United

Nations. The United Nations remains the central forum

for dialogue and diplomacy, and it must be

strengthened. The Security Council must be made more

representative by increasing the number of non-

permanent members. New permanent members will

only expand inequality. States which occupy and

suppress other peoples, and defy the resolutions of the

Council, have absolutely no credentials to aspire to

permanent Security Council membership.

We are on the cusp of a new millennium. It is a

decisive moment in history. We must decide whether to

flow with the currents that threaten confrontation and

the collapse of civilizations, or to muster the collective

will to chart the course of history towards a peaceful

and cooperative global society. The leaders assembled

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here bear an enormous responsibility to rescue our

world from war and violence, poverty and pestilence;

to redress inequity and impoverishment, which breed

despair and destruction; and finally, to collectively

construct a new global architecture of peace and

prosperity for all peoples and all nations.