PAKISTAN
Address by
H.E. General Pervez Musharraf
President of Pakistan
at the 57th Session of the UN General Assembly
(12 September 2002)
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.Seung-Soo Han, 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 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 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-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, I propose that the General Assembly consider the adoption of a Declaration
on Religious and Cultural Understanding, Harmony and Cooperation.
Mr. President, there is 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 injustice. When a people, right to self-determination
and freedom are brutally suppressed by foreign occupation; they can be expected
to resist this by all means at their disposal. 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 de-legitimize
the Kashmiri freedom struggle, tarnish Pakistan with the brush of terrorism
and drive a wedge between it 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 cannot be coerced or frightened into compromising our principled position
on Kashmir.
The conflict in occupied Kashmir is being waged by the Kashmiris. 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. The people
of Jammu & Kashmir must be allowed to exercise their right to determine
their own future in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the UN 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 been spurned by India. Let me declare from this rostrum: Pakistan
will not start a conflict with India. But if war is thrust upon us we shall
exercise our right to self-defense fully and effectively.
With nuclear weapons now in the possession of both countries, it is small wonder
that people describe South Asia as "the most dangerous place on Earth."
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 cannot afford to become a substitute
for conflict resolution. The steps required to avoid a conflict and advance
peace are clear:
Mutual withdrawal of forward deployed forces by both States;
Observance of a cease-fire along the Line of Control in Kashmir; and
Cessation of India's state terrorism against the Kashmiri people.
Simultaneously, 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.
Mr. President,
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 even the scheduled caste Hindus. Last February,
an estimated 2000 innocent Muslims were massacred in Gujrat with the complicity
of BJP State leaders. There must be accountability for this massacre. The international
community must act to oppose Hindu extremism with the same determination it
displayed in combating terrorism, religious bigotry, ethnic cleansing and fascist
tendencies elsewhere.
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 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, my government has laid the foundations for sustainable
development and sustainable democracy in Pakistan.
We have:
Empowered the people by devolving decisionmaking to the grassroots;
Improved human rights, virtually eliminated exploitive child labor and empowered
women;
We have rationalized economic policies and, despite internal and external shocks,
set Pakistan on the path of sustained growth.
Pakistan has become the first country to set up a Human Development Fund with
the collaboration of UNDP 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 and provincial elections, completing the
process of restoring democracy in Pakistan.
Mr. President,
We are 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 centers through an
expanded international presence is paramount. This was brought home by the attempt,
a few days ago, to assassinate President Karzai. Reconstruction of Afghanistan
through early release of funds agreed in the Tokyo commitment is essential for
strengthening the central government as well as for peace and security in Afghanistan.
The international community must urgently revive the Middle East peace process
to realize a comprehensive and just peace on the basis of the resolutions of
the Security Council and the principle of land for peace.
Pakistan supports the full and faithful implementation of all Security Council
Resolutions.
Mr. President,
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, in Doha, Monterrey and Johannesburg.
We must implement the commitments made in an integrated and coherent manner.
A pernicious aspect of the international Banking system is the stashing away,
in secret accounts, of illegally acquired money by corrupt elite from developing
to developed countries. An international regime to interdict and return illegally
acquired wealth to developing countries is indispensable for the success of
a North-South partnership and will make a genuine contribution to reduction
of corruption in developing countries and to poverty alleviation.
Mr. President,
Despite current differences among governments, people both from 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 at
and by the United Nations. This is the central purpose, the reason for the existence,
of this Organization.
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.
I thank you, Mr. President.