We are being scapegoated: Highlights of Pak PM Abbasi's first speech at UN

He said, 'General perception in Pakistan was that our efforts were unappreciated, and today, we are being scapegoated'

Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, in his first international television interview on Wednesday, dismissed the United States’ allegations that the country was hosting terrorists on its soil. 

 

On the sidelines of the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Abbasi said Pakistan has been consistently active in the war against terrorism and that it has lost more to the cause than any other nation.

Abbasi also said the United States did not appreciate the inroads made by Pakistani soldiers against safe havens used by the Pakistani Taliban.

"The general perception in Pakistan was that our efforts were unappreciated, and today, we are being scapegoated. We are active partners in the war on terror. No less than that," he said.

Here are the highlights of his 20-minute speech:

Kashmir issue: "India has responded with massive and indiscriminate force to suppress the Kashmiris, shooting indiscriminately at children, women and youth. Hundreds of innocent Kashmiris have been killed or injured.

Shotgun pellets have blinded and maimed thousands of Kashmiris including children. These and other brutalities clearly constitute war crimes and violate the Geneva Conventions."

India's cold-start doctrine: As far as tactical nuclear weapons, we do not have any fielded tactical nuclear weapons. We have developed short-range nuclear weapons as a counter to the Cold Start doctrine that India has developed

Admitting that there has been aggression from India in the recent past, he said that Pakistan wants "normal relations with India, but on the basis of trust and respect".

Tension along LoC: To divert the world’s attention from its brutalities, India frequently violates the ceasefire along the Line of Control in Kashmir. Despite over 600 violations since January this year Pakistan has acted with restraint. But if India does venture across the LoC, or acts upon its doctrine of “limited” war against Pakistan, it will evoke a strong and matching response.

Indus Waters Treaty: On the treaty signed in 1960 after nine years of negotiations between India and Pakistan with the help of the World Bank, Abbasi said:

"Our stance from day one has been that the issue should be resolved as per the provisions of the agreement, which are very clear. I think the World Bank also appreciates our viewpoint."

Terrorism: "Our counter-terrorism credentials cannot be questioned. We have lost 2,700 lives and sustained 50,000 injuries in this war."

Afghan conflict: "Galling for Pakistan to be blamed for the military and political stalemate in Afghanistan. We are not prepared to be anyone's scapegoat."

India has 'zero' political and military role in Afghanistan: Pak PM Abbasi

"From sixteen years of the ongoing war in Afghanistan, it is clear that peace could not be restored by the continuing resort to military force. Neither Kabul and the coalition nor the Afghan Taliban can impose a military solution on each other."

During his 20-minute speech, Abbasi stated that Taliban safe havens are located not in Pakistan but in large tracts of territory controlled by the Taliban in Afghanistan. This comes in the wake of Donald Trump's new strategy for Afghanistan, which has been taken positively by the global community.

Taliban safe havens: "Cross-border attacks do occur; these are mostly conducted by anti-Pakistan terrorist from safe haven across the border. To end all cross-border attacks we ask the Afghan Government to support and compliment Pakistan's ongoing efforts to strengthen border controls and monitor all movement across it."

Blasphemy law: When asked by a Human Rights Watch official if he would speak out against it, he said:

"It's only up to the parliament to amend or change the laws."

He also identified two flaws in the global counter-terror strategy. One of this, Abbasi remarked, was state-sponsored terrorism, and the failure of the UN to reign in states that use this as an instrument of their foreign policy.