New conflicts compound old disputes, says Riaz

UNITED NATIONS—Stating that old disputes were compounded by new confrontations, Pakistan has called for a peaceful settlement of the decades-old Indo-Pakistan dispute over Kashmir that responds to Kashmiri people’s aspirations.
Addressing the U.N. General Assembly, foreign secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan, who is leading the Pakistan delegation, said the peace process between the two countries has led to “significant improvement” in bilateral relations. “The two countries must now seize the opportunity provided by the conducive international and regional environment to address problems especially the Jammu and Kashmir dispute that has been at the heart of conflict and tension in South Asia,” he told the 192-member assembly in its gold-and-blue hall.
In his wide-ranging speech, the foreign secretary also dealt with a number of issues, including Afghanistan, Iraq, the Middle East, terrorism, nuclear, climate change, Islamophobia, UN reforfm and global development issues etc. Riaz Khan also referred to the incipient US-India nuclear deal, and said it raises concerns over strategic stability which, he said, Pakistan will maintain despite its firm opposition to an arms race in South Asia. Secondly, Pakistan also has a strong interest in developing civil nuclear power generation under international safeguards.
Elaborating on the Kashmir issue, the foreign secretary said, “Both sides will have to demonstrate political will, courage and flexibility. We are pursuing a solution that is acceptable to India, to Pakistan and above all to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
President Pervez Musharraf, he said, had offered important ideas that have resonated with the Kashmiri people. At the same time it was essential to create an environment free of human rights violations in Kashmir for a sustainable peaceful solution.
“A peaceful settlement responding to the aspirations of the Kashmiri people will usher in a new era of mutual trust and cooperation in South Asia.” The Pakistan chief delegate also called for reforming the U.N. Security Council to enlarge the representation of all member states rather than expand the “circle of the privileged”— a reference to those seeking permanent membership in the 15-member body.
The Security Council functions, he added, must also be developed in a manner that these do not eclipse the Charter responsibilities of the UN General Assembly or those of the other principal organs of the United Nations. Noting new threats of terrorism and violence and of widening divisions among cultures and societies driven by suspicion and prejudice, he said these growing malaise reflected failure of the international community to address festering disputes and its collective inability to universalize opportunities and benefits offered by the phenomenal advances of technology and globalization for the betterment of all peoples.
Referring to the threat of terrorism, the foreign secretary said it must not be associated with any faith or culture, and addressed by addressing both its manifestations and the root causes. “Equally disturbing are trends to malign other cultures and faiths and reinforce divisions especially between the West and the Islamic world, He said. —APP