Asks Pak to create atmosphere for talks; raises pitch for UNSC reforms
In a thinly-veiled attack on Pakistan, a day after it raked up the Kashmir issue at the United Nations and resurrected its old demand for a plebiscite, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hit out at “some nations” that are still harbouring terrorism and using it as an instrument of State policy.
India is all for holding dialogue with Pakistan in a peaceful atmosphere “without the shadow of terrorism”, but then Islamabad must also take its responsibility seriously and create an appropriate environment, Modi said in his maiden address to the UN General Assembly.
Making a passing reference to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif’s strident remarks on the Kashmir issue on Friday, Modi said dismissively that “raising issues in this (UN) forum is not the way to make progress towards resolving issues between our two countries”.
He obliquely put it to Sharif that instead of raising issues at the UN, what was needed was “we should be thinking about the victims of floods in Jammu & Kashmir”, adding: “In India, we have organised massive flood relief operations and have also offered assistance for PoK.”
Modi, who delivered the speech in Hindi, touched on a wide range of subjects that prominently included a fervent plea to redefine the role of the United Nations and strengthen the institution by reforming its organs, notably the Security Council. With the United Nations set to turn 70 next year, Modi called for urgent action on reforms. As he put it, “We must reform the United Nations, including the Security Council, and make it more democratic and participative.”
Modi devoted a considerable portion of his 35-minute address, partly extempore, to terrorism that is spreading to more and more countries. He urged the early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, which has been hanging fire for a decade.
Talking about India’s neighbourhood, the Prime Minister said that India desired a peaceful and stable environment for its development. “A nation’s destiny is linked to its neighbourhood. That is why my government has placed the highest priority on advancing friendship and cooperation with her neighbours.”
“India is part of the developing world, but we are prepared to share our modest resources with those countries that need this assistance as much as we do,” he said.
Describing the present as “a time of great flux and change”, Modi said the world was witnessing tensions and turmoil on a scale rarely seen in recent history. Although there were no major wars “there is absence of real peace and uncertainty about the future”.
The Prime Minister referred to the Asia-Pacific region and said that it was “still concerned about maritime security that is fundamental to its future”. While “extremism and fault lines” were growing in West Asia, Modi said, “Our own region continues to face the destabilising threat of terrorism”. Terrorism was taking “new shape and new name” and no country, big or small was free from its threat.
“Are we really making concerted international efforts to fight these forces, or are we still hobbled by our politics, our division, our discrimination between two countries, distinction between good and bad terroristsIJ” he asked.
Without naming Pakistan, the Prime Minister said that even today “States allow terrorist sanctuaries on their territory or use terrorism as instruments of their policy”.
In an apparent reference to the ongoing conflict in Iraq and Syria, where a US-led coalition is attacking the Islamic State (IS) militants, he said that India welcomed efforts to combat terrorism’s resurgence in West Asia which was affecting countries near and far.
He pointedly emphasised, “this effort should involve the support of all countries in the region”.Pressing for a concerted international effort to combat terrorism and extremism, the Indian leader urged the world body to adopt the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.
Calling for reform of the United Nations, including the Security Council, whose membership India is aspiring for, Modi said the world body should be more democratic and participative.
“Institutions that reflect the imperatives of the 20th century won’t be effective in the 21st. It would face the risk of irrelevance and we will face the risk of continuing turbulence with no one capable of addressing it,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)