BAKU: President Dr Arif Alvi Friday while calling Indian unilateral actions in Jammu and Kashmir ‘illegal, immoral and unethical’ said that it was time to resolve the internationally recognized Kashmir dispute justly and peacefully.
Addressing the 18th Summit of the 120-member Non-Aligned Movement here, the president said that the Indian actions of August 5, 2019 designed to alter the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir and change its demographical composition and identity constituted to a willful violation of the UN Security Council’s resolutions and international law.
Started on Friday, the two-day summit is being attended by the dignitaries from around 60 countries, including Venezuela, Iran, Pakistan, Cuba, Afghanistan and several African countries, besides the representatives from international organizations. The NAM covers 55 percent of the world’s population.
The president told the international gathering that the people of Jammu and Kashmir remained subjected to the foreign occupation for over seven decades.
He said the Indian actions in Jammu and Kashmir represented a direct assault on the Kashmir’s right to self determination which were illegal, immoral and unethical. He said such draconian measures found no parallel in this age and time.
The president said that the denial of Kashmiris’ right to self determination and mischievous attempt to associate their legitimate struggle with terrorism had run their course.
He believed that the self-serving tactics could not weaken the resolve of Kashmiri people to continue their struggle for inalienable rights guaranteed under international laws and consistently reaffirmed by the movement.
The president said that the lasting peace in the region could only be achieved through the resolution of outstanding disputes which also hindered the growth and realization of countries’ true economic potential.
He said the sustainable development was linked to peace and security and Pakistan had been an advocate and practitioner of this integrated approach.
He said that consistent with its vision for Naya Pakistan, the government had fully integrated the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into its national development plans.
He said the government had launched Ehsaas Program designed to provide social security nets, alleviate poverty, enhance investments in universal health and education without which no country could prosper.
The president said the endeavors to achieve the SDGs would fail unless the structural causes of poverty were also addressed among and within the countries.
He said it was imperative that international trade was free and fair for all the nations, investment should be made profitable for all partners and weak and disadvantaged nations and communities must be supported to eradicate poverty.
While reiterating Pakistan’s policy of peaceful neighborhood, the president said that the government’s vision of peaceful development would continue to guide its efforts to help create an environment that fostered cooperation and development.
He said Pakistan had demonstrated this commitment by facilitating political settlement in Afghanistan by supporting an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process.
He said Pakistan remained concerned about the evolving developments in the Middle East and Gulf region and was endeavoring to facilitate a process to help ease tension and resolve differences through political and diplomatic means.