Nawaz Sharif at UN

And the need to translate words into real action

Addresses delivered by heads of government or state at UN General Assembly sessions are reflective of the essentials of the administrations’ policies. Unless the new government is installed as a result of a revolutionary change, there is little chance of a fundamental difference in these policies. Like Nawaz Sharif, Zardari had also urged the international community to understand Pakistan’s concerns over drone attacks. He had recounted the sacrifices in the war on terror, and argued that terrorism and extremism had wreaked havoc in Pakistan itself. Zardari had raised the issue of Kashmir underlining the UN failure to help resolve it. While Sharif has urged the world body to help avert a clash of civilisations, Zardari had called on the international community to condemn the anti-Muslim film “Innocence of Muslims” for inciting hatred against the faith of billions of Muslims of the world. Like Sharif, Zardari had underlined the contribution of Pakistani troops to the UN peacekeeping mission and demanded that the UN move towards becoming more democratic and accountable. He had supported the rights of the Palestinian people and the admission of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations.

Mian Nawaz Sharif however took up three new issues. The crisis in Syria emanating from the chemical attack had not emerged in September last year. Nawaz Sharif’s speech also dilated on the need to improve Pak-India ties though a reference to the relations was considered unnecessary in the 2012 address as these seemed to be improving as indicated by the meeting between S M Krishna and Hina Rabani Khar in Islamabad two weeks before the General Assembly session. The really new thing in Nawaz Sharif’s address is therefore his policy towards militancy. A defensive Nawaz Sharif has said that the dialogue must not be seen as a tool of appeasement.

It isn’t enough to deny that terrorists enjoyed the support of important quarters in Pakistan. Unless Pakistan manages to take out those who conduct the attacks and dismantle camps that train foreign militants in tribal areas, the sincerity of its claims would be challenged. The US, Britain, China, India, Afghanistan and a number of other countries have expressed their exasperation over attacks committed inside their territories by militants trained in Pakistan’s tribal agencies.

Almost three weeks after the APC and there is no movement towards talks while the militants continue to launch one disastrous attack after another. After the bombing of a church in Peshawar that killed more than 80 worshippers, the terrorists targeted a bus in Peshawar killing 19 besides launching half a dozen other attacks in the country. The two fidayeen raids on a police station and a military formation in Jammu killed 12 ahead of Nawaz-Manmohan talks, toning down expectations, as Dr Singh claimed that Pakistan remained an “epicentre of terrorism”. There is a dire need on the part of the government to replace words with real action.