Cleared Pak’s stance on international issues: PM

NEW YORK: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Friday stated that he had attended as many as twenty-seven meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) 72nd session in New York.  Addressing a press conference, which was also attended by Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif and Pakistan’s representative to the United Nations in New York, Maleeha Lodhi, PM Abbasi said that he had clarified Pakistan’s position on various internationally strategic issues in front of the international community.

Abbasi also confirmed that he had an informal meeting with US President Donald Trump.

Abbasi highlighted that during his UN address he had clarified that Pakistan does not provide safe havens to terrorists. He also stated that Pakistan had played its role responsibly in the war against terrorism.  The premier also stated that during his meeting with US Vice President Mike Pence, he had informed the US that Pakistan seeks peace in Afghanistan for a stable and secure regional environment.

“We want Afghan leadership to settle their disputes,” he said.

PM Abbasi said that Pakistan’s clear stance has been received well across the board.

The premier further revealed that a dossier of 300 pages addressing human rights violations in Kashmir has been presented to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi during his address to the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Thursday stressed that Pakistan “is not prepared to be anyone’s scapegoat”.

In what marked his debut at the highest international diplomacy — after taking over the office last month following former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s ouster in July, earlier this year — Abbasi delivered a crisp and concise speech that touched upon almost every key factor positive for or detrimental to Pakistan’s growth and development.

Analysts and journalists at home and abroad praised the prime minister’s address, saying that he smartly informed the UN of strategical issues — both local and regional — that Pakistan is currently facing and clearly pointed out the role the country has played so far in each of them.

Pakistan has been consistently active in the war against terrorism and that it has lost more to the cause than any other nation, the premier said. During his 20-minute speech, he stated that while Daesh has been decimated in most Middle Eastern regions, including Yemen, the group’s creeping global influence is evident through the recent events around the world.

Abbasi mentioned to the attendees that the UN charter has over time been eroding slowly, with unresolved conflicts taking a much larger part of the headlines than before. He provided the examples of the rampant aggression in various regions of the world as well as the cold war in Europe.