ISLAMABAD – Pakistan has termed the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K) and Palestine disputes are the United Nation’s (UN) most glaring and long-standing failures.
While virtually addressing the 75th Anniversary of the UN in New York today (Tuesday), Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said the people of IIOJ&K still await the fulfilment of the commitment made to them by the UN to grant them their right to self-determination.
Referring to the UN role over the disputes, the Foreign Minister said that it addressed a historic need “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”; to reaffirm equal and fundamental rights of men and women and nations large and small, and to promote better life in larger freedoms.
He said that today the UN resolutions and decisions are flouted; international cooperation, especially in the Security Council, is at its lowest; force is threatened with abandon; critical Treaties and Covenants, designed to promote the development and protect the globe’s fragile environment, are discarded.
Qureshi pointed out that the very forces that led to the Second World War, racism and fascism are taking the shape of rising xenophobia and Islamophobia.
Highlighting Pakistan’s contributions to the world body, he said Pakistan remains an ardent believer in multilateralism and the indispensability of the UN and has contributed over 200,000 troops to 47 Missions in 26 countries, losing 157 of our bravest in the process.
He said while we have seen enormous international cooperation to combat COVID-19, it has failed to unify humanity as it could have.
