Pakistan’s synopsis at the United Nations General Assembly is in need of being heard, especially by its arrogant neighbour in the east. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in his 25-minute articulation at the world body, underlined the need for peace regimes in South Asia and the Middle East, and standing with International Law, conventions of multilateralism and sovereignty of all of its member states. The desire for tranquility and abidance to bilateralism was tactfully highlighted as Pakistan exposed the nefarious territorial designs of India, and Israel, as both took to aggressions. Sharif also brought to the fore the inhuman and illegal suspension of water to the lower riparian state by New Delhi, in utter disregard of Indus Water Treaty.
Offering an olive branch to India, the PM called for settlement of disputes through a dialogue and to seize the opportunity of geo-economics in an era of emerging pluralism. The flagging of the lingering Kashmir dispute and the water exigency that Pakistan faces must act as a preamble of warning for the world community. It is these issues that could drag both the nations to war; and with a mentality of radicalism in vogue in India, at the behest of Hindutva politics by the BJP dispensation, the region at large is at the brink. Last year too, Pakistan had warned of ulterior motives by India – only to be proven true in May this year when the ruling BJP coalition opted for a duel in a berserk frame of mind.
Pakistan, likewise, underlined the need for the world forum to act before it gets too late on climate change, terrorism and emerging technologies that are squeezing sovereignty of nation states through unpredictable calamities and non-state actors. As a non-permanent UNSC member, Pakistan proposed an agenda of change and spelt out conflict prevention, adopted as Resolution 2788 under its presidency, reinforcing multilateralism and UN Charter principles as the way to go.
It is necessary for the UN to act and dispel the impression of being a repenting organisation, as conflicts and crises submerge its vitality. Pakistan has simply pushed the envelope in the right direction.
