Daily Times

Prime Minister Imran Khan spoke to the United Nations General Assembly during the 76th session on late Friday night, emphasizing the need for the international community to recognize that the “only way” forward in Afghanistan is to “strengthen and stabilize the current administration.”

There should be a global discussion right now about the path forward. We have a choice between two routes. If we do nothing about Afghanistan right now, the UN estimates that half of its population is already at risk, and that number will rise to over 90 percent by the end of the year.

“Humanitarian aid is in grave danger. The consequences of this will be severe not only for Afghanistan’s neighbours but for everyone else as well,” he said.

It was for this reason, according to Prime Minister Imran Khan, that the United States entered Afghanistan in the first place: to provide a “safe haven” for foreign terrorists.

Because of this, there is only one path to take. For the sake of the Afghan people, the current government must be strengthened and stabilized.

The prime minister recapped the Taliban’s media briefing promises.

There has been a pledge made that human rights will be respected; an inclusive government will not allow terrorists to utilize their country, and amnesty has been offered.

“If the international community motivates and pushes them to walk the talk, everyone will benefit. Because the US-Taliban talks in Doha were predicated on these four requirements, “Imran Khan, Pakistan’s prime minister, made the statement.

The coalition forces spent 20 years in Afghanistan for nothing, he claimed.

“You cannot waste time. Help is needed there. Humanitarian assistance has to be given there immediately. The Secretary General of the United Nations has taken bold steps. I urge you to mobilize the international community, and move in this direction,” he said.

Islamophobia

The premier also addressed Islamophobia, which he described as a rising problem since it encourages right-wing, xenophobic, and violent nationalists, extremists, and terrorist groups to target Muslims.

“We hope the Secretary-General’s report will focus on these new threats of terrorism posed by Islamophobes and right-wing extremists,” the prime minister said.

“I call on the Secretary-General to convene a global dialogue on countering the rise of Islamophobia. Our parallel efforts, at the same time, should be to promote interfaith harmony, and they should continue,” he added.

The prime minister also addressed Islamophobia, which he said “today governs” India.

Fear and violence against India’s 200 million Muslim population has been unleashed by the fascist RSS-BJP regime’s hate-filled Hindutva ideology, he claimed.

In addition to lynchings by cow vigilantes, the premier blamed “discriminatory citizenship legislation to purify India of Muslims” and a drive to destroy mosques across India and wipe its Muslim heritage and culture.

Pakistan wants peace with India, neighbours

Pakistan, like all its neighbours, wants peace with India. “But lasting peace in South Asia depends on resolving the Jammu and Kashmir conflict in conformity with relevant UN Security Council resolutions and Kashmiris’ demands,” he said.

Last February, both countries confirmed the 2003 ceasefire agreement along the Line of Control, according to PM Imran Khan.

“It was hoped that it would force a reassessment in New Delhi. Sadly, the BJP-led government in Kashmir has escalated repression and continues to pollute the environment “he remarked.

He said it is up to India to foster genuine and result-oriented engagement with Pakistan.

He urged India to:

Stop oppressing and violating the human rights of the Kashmiri people. Stop and reverse the demographic changes in the occupied region.

The prime minister also warned of another Pakistan-India conflict, which must be avoided. Destabilizing conventional capabilities and a military build-up in India may undercut the two countries’ mutual deterrence, he added.

Terror in India

On the ‘ultimate settlement’ for the Jammu and Kashmir problem, New Delhi has also embarked, said the PM.

India, he said, since August 5, 2019; unleashed a reign of terror by a 900,000-strong occupation force; jailed senior Kashmiri leadership; stifled media and internet; violently suppressed peaceful protests; abducted 13,000 young Kashmiris and tortured hundreds of them; extra-judicially killed hundreds of innocent Kashmiris in fake “encounters”, and imposed collective punishments by desegregating schools.

Irregular money flow

The prime minister also addressed the “scourge of illicit money flows,” a topic he has brought up numerous times at the United Nations, according to the official transcript.

A “staggering $7 trillion in stolen assets are parked in the financial haven destinations,” according to the Secretary-High-Level General’s Panel on Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity (FACTI).

It “depletes their already scarce resources,” he added, adding that “poverty increases when laundered money puts pressure on the currency and causes its depreciation.”

A massive economic exodus to wealthier countries will occur if things continue as they are, according to the FACTI Panel’s prediction of a $1 trillion yearly drain from emerging markets.

Recovering assets from affluent countries is “difficult for underdeveloped states,” according to him.

As a result of this “deeply troubling and morally reprehensible situation,” the Prime Minister urged the General Assembly to take action.

“The most crucial efforts to end this severe economic injustice are naming and shaming the ‘haven’ destinations and implementing a comprehensive legal framework to stop and reverse the illicit financial flows,” he said.

The Secretary General’s FACTI panel’s recommendations, he continued, “should be completely implemented at the very least.”