ISLAMABAD, SEPT 26 — in a strongly worded rebuke to the Indian response following Prime Minister Imran Khan’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) — categorically stated that Jammu and Kashmir never was and never will be a part of India, adding that New Delhi has no claim over the region other than that of a “military occupier”.

“In Jammu and Kashmir, India has no other claim than that of a military occupier. It is compelled to use naked force to impose its occupation on an unwilling and oppressed people. Ask the people of Jammu and Kashmir and they will tell you emphatically: Jammu and Kashmir is not a part of India. It never was and never will be,” said Zulqarnain Chheena, representing Pakistan at the forum.

Earlier on Saturday, India had responded to the prime minister’s UNGA address calling it “full of lies, misinformation and warmongering”, according to Hindustan Times. The Indian delegate had also walked out while the premier’s pre-recorded UNGA speech was aired.

In a rebuttal to the Indian statement, the Pakistan representative said that the Indian reply was “another shameful attempt to deflect attention away from the real issues”.

“India, however, will not be able to escape accountability for its crimes. In his statement, the prime minister shed a spotlight on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s India which is defined by its oppressive and brutal occupation of the land and resources of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Pakistani representative said that the state of Jammu and Kashmir was an internationally recognised disputed territory as decreed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

“The final disposition of the state will be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through democratic methods of a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the UN.”

He said that the indigenous Kashmiri freedom struggle seeks to realise the implementation of the UNSC resolutions in exercise of their inalienable right to self-determination.

“The Kashmiris have a legitimate right to resist occupation by all means at their disposal. This just struggle cannot be denigrated or described as terrorism. It it the occupying state that is guilty of terrorism against the occupied people.

“Like all oppressors India continues to believe it can subdue the legitimate Kashmiri resistance through brute force. In its playbook, the alternative to suppression is even more suppression. But like all colonial oppressors of the past, India will fail in its strategy of occupation and oppression.

“Kashmir will be free one day. This is not only a lesson of history, it is also an imperative of justice,” he said.

Chheena added that the people of Pakistan, the Islamic world and all freedom-loving people stood with the valiant people of occupied Kashmir.

Oppression of minorities

The Pakistani representative also commented on the oppression of minorities, particularly Muslims, in India.

“The Nazis are often credited with perfecting the art of concocting lies and peddling false propaganda. But listening to the Indian representative, even the Nazis would acknowledge that the mantle has shifted to their BJP-RSS acolytes.

“The egregious human rights violations of the Kashmiri people, the deliberate promotion of the supremacist Hindutva ideology, the expansionist Indian designs against Pakistan and all other neighbours of India and the avowed aim of New Delhi to act as a regional bully: These are all objective realities, not partisan facts.

“As India’s dissent into a fascist state accelerates, the projections which PM Imran made last year of the imminent disaster being fueled by the BJP-RSS policies are now being confirmed by their brutal actions.”

Taking the example of the riots in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh neighbourhood against the Indian government’s controversial citizenship law, Chheena said: “Hindu zealots perpetrated a well organised and orchestrated pogrom of Muslims in order to teach the traitors a lesson.

“Countless Muslims were killed, their homes burned, their properties looted, their places of worship desecrated, all with the connivance and complicity of the Indian state.

“The charred streets of Delhi not only expose the Hindutva ideology in all its intolerant glory, they also manifested the trusted method the Hindu extremists have resorted to — from Gujrat in 2002 to Delhi in 2020 — to address the Muslim menace,” he said.

“It is no secret that the architects of the Gujarat massacre were also the masterminds of the Delhi pogrom. Just like the victims of Gujarat, the victims of Delhi will no doubt search in vain for justice in this bastion of fascism.”

He stated that the perpetrators of these crimes will continue to enjoy impunity and will be encouraged to “spill more Muslim blood” to further consolidate the hold on power.

“It is a tragedy that state institutions in India have also become willing agents of this ominous Hindutva agenda,” Chheena said.

Indian state sponsored terrorism

The Pakistani representative also commented on Indian state sponsored terrorism, calling the country “the mothership of terrorism”.

“India has used terrorism against each of its neighbours, against its own people and against the innocent people of Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

“India is actively involved in orchestrating, financing and providing logistical support to terrorist organisations to target Pakistan from across borders. It has hired organised criminal groups located across our western border to conduct terrorist attacks in Pakistan especially to disrupt the development of the western and southern regions.”

He added that Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer arrested in Pakistan on espionage charges, had confessed to organising and supporting these criminal groups to perpetrate terrorism in Pakistan.

“Pakistan and our entire region faces Hindutva terrorism as well. The BJP-RSS extremists continue to espouse the fiction a ‘Greater India’ which represents their desire for a unified subcontinent, dominated by the Hindu religion where minorities either convert to Hinduism or become second-class citizens.

“The Indian government is also responsible for the worst form of state terrorism against the oppressed people of illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Over 100,000 Kashmiris have lost their lives under the brutal occupation spanning over seven decades. [But] not one Indian soldier has been punished for crimes against humanity and these atrocities.

“Despite India’s wishes the international community can clearly see through the Indian hoax of presenting itself as a victim of terrorism.

“We must confront and defeat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. This goal can’t be accomplished without confronting the terrorism of hate and ambition which currently emanates from fascist ideologies […] in India.

“Instead of tilting at windmills, India would be better served to put its own house in order and to strive for regional peace based on equality and mutual respect, and a peaceful settlement of disputes,” the diplomat concluded.

DNA

BEIJING, Sept. 26  – Sichuan Normal University (SICNU), China held the first online Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK or Chinese Proficiency Test) amid the COVID-19 outbreak for international students to pursue their research dreams.

As per Liu Tianhao, a Pakistani student form SICNU, the Chinese Proficiency Test empowered him to explore China. “Mastering local languages will enrich your experience in foreign countries,” he told Gwadar Pro.

“Each language is beautiful with its history and content, so are Urdu and Chinese,” he added.

According to SICNU, while doing a good job in epidemic prevention and control, they spare no efforts in the normalization of HSK.

“We take HSK as an opportunity to vigorously develop international students’ education at all levels, so as to create a new landscape in international Chinese education,” said the source from SICNU.

The candidates of this online HSK are from Pakistan, Austria, Russia, South Korea, Laos, the United States, Japan, Singapore and some other countries, SICNU noted.

Most of the examinees are from colleges and universities in Sichuan, China; a small number of social examinees are from the Consulate General of Singapore in Chengdu, a well-known foreign enterprise, etc.

HSK, translated as the Chinese Proficiency Test used in China, is the standardized test of Standard Chinese (a type of Mandarin Chinese) language proficiency of China for non-native speakers such as foreign students and overseas Chinese.

The test is administered by Hanban, an agency of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China.

DNA

ISLAMABAD, SEPT 26 – FPCCI’s Businessmen Panel on Saturday demanded that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) must investigate the money laundering element from 44 Indian banks and put India on grey list till the conclusion.

As 1.53 billion dollars amount were transferred in over 3000 transactions.Secretary General (Federal) of the Businessmen Panel, Ch. Ahmad Jawad said India always made troubles for Pakistan with baseless propaganda, now it’s time for world community to take action on the account of these transactions which is great concern for us , might be this money used against Pakistan instability.

According the details, Data obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) from suspicious activity reports (SAR) filed by American banks reveal that 44 Indian banks – public, private and foreign – were flagged for these transactions. These could relate to activities such as money laundering, terrorism and drugs.

Documents also show that Indian banks are listed in SAR related to over 2,000 transactions valued at over $1 billion between 2011 and 2017. These include several hundred transactions related to Indian entities and businessmen where the Indian shippers or recipients have addresses in foreign jurisdictions.He said FATF’s recommendations and rules should also be followed equally in India.

Far from it, an accountable, dynamic, transparent, and well-regulated financial architecture driven by the rule of law and financial professionalism.Jawad also said India has been continuously trying to destabilize Pakistan to divert attention from its own internal chaos. 

he said India is interfering in Balochistan province of Pakistan at the same time it is also adversely affecting peace efforts in Afghanistan.India always wants incidents of terrorism to divert world attention. He said it is India, which orchestrated the drama of Pulwama attack. He also urged the Pakistani importers  to make necessary scarification before placing orders to indian buyers.

Regarding PM speech at UNGA, he referred to the prime minister’s address as ‘strong’ and ‘hard-hitting’. From Kashmir to Palestine. From the economic woes arising from money laundered and stashed in developed states to the need for a global response to mitigate the economic issues arising from Covid-19 and climate change. DNA

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KUALA LUMPUR, SEPT 26 (DNA) – The Mayor of Kuala Lumpur and Ambassador of the state of Palestine, Walid Abu Ali officially inaugurated the Street of Palestine “Jalan Palestine” in the heart of the city centre of Kuala Lumpur, on Saturday.

This initiative assures and extends the bilateral relations between the two brotherly nations and affirms on Malaysia and the Malaysian’s support to Palestine and its people. DNA

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ISLAMABAD, SEPT 26 (DNA) President of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas thanked to the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan for showing his support for establishment of an Independent State of Palestine at UNGA.

President of Palestine said All regards and respect to your Excellency for giving comprehensive, speech to the UN General Assembly session, where you truly presented the legitimate demands of Palestine and its people to the International World.

On behalf of the Government of Palestine and its people I heartily thank Your Excellency for your great stance towards establishment of an Independent State of Palestine with Jerusalem Al-Quds as its capital.

We Palestinians always receive great support from Government and people of Pakistan on all the forums of the World, we are proud of having such support for Palestine. DNA

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Mr. President,
Secretary General Guterres,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am honoured to address the United Nations General Assembly once again. I congratulate His Excellency Mr. Volkan Bozkir on his election as the President of the seventy-fifth session of the General Assembly.

We also appreciate the skilful leadership of the outgoing President, His Excellency Tijani Muhammad-Bande, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

We commend the leadership of the Secretary General in these extremely turbulent times.

Mr. President,

Since my government assumed office, our consistent effort has been to fundamentally transform Pakistan.

We envisage ‘Naya Pakistan’ to be modeled on the principles of the State of Madinah, established by our Holy Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H).

A just and humane society where all Government policies are directed at lifting our citizens out of poverty and creating a just and equitable dispensation.

To achieve this goal, we need to have peace and stability. Thus our foreign policy aims to have peace with our neighbours and settle disputes through dialogue.

Mr. President,

The 75th Anniversary of the United Nations is an extremely important milestone as this is the only body in the world that can help us achieve our goals of peace and stability in our neighbourhood. This is also a time for us to reflect whether as the United Nations we have been able to realize the promise we collectively made to our peoples.

Today, the foundations of the ‘world order’– non-use of or threat of unilateral force, self-determination of peoples, the sovereign equality and territorial integrity of States, non-interference in their internal affairs, international cooperation – all these ideals are being systematically eroded.

International agreements are being flouted and set aside.

Renewed great-power rivalries are leading to a new arms race.

Conflicts are proliferating and intensifying.

Military occupation and illegal annexations are suppressing the rights of human beings to self-determination.

According to respected Professor Noam Chomsky, mankind is at even a greater risk than it was before the 1st and 2nd World Wars in the last century, and this is because of the increased threat of nuclear war, Climate Change, and sadly the rise of authoritarian regimes. We must come together to prevent such a catastrophe.

We believe that the driving force in international relations must be cooperation, in accordance with the principles of international law, and not confrontation and force.

We all must emphatically reaffirm our support for multilateralism.

Mr. President,

The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated the oneness of humanity. In our interconnected world, no one is safe unless everyone is safe.

Locking down to control the pandemic has triggered the worst recession since the Great Depression in the last Century. This has hit the poorest countries the hardest as well as the poor in all the countries.

In Pakistan, we realized very early on that if we imposed a strict lockdown, the type that several affluent countries had imposed, we would have more people dying of hunger than the virus.
Therefore, we adopted a policy of ‘smart lockdown.’ While concentrating on the virus hot-spots we opened up our agricultural sector immediately and then followed it up by the construction sector, which employed most of the people.

At the same time, and this is despite financial constraints, my government deployed an unprecedented 8 billion dollars for our health services; plus support the poorest and most vulnerable households with direct cash payments through Ehsaas programme; and then subsidies to the small businesses.

Even though our ‘smart lockdown’ was heavily criticized in the beginning, but thanks to Almighty Allah’s Grace, we have not only managed to control the virus, stabilize our economy, but most importantly, we have been able to protect the poorest segment of the society from the worst fall out of the lock down.

Today, Pakistan’s response is cited among the success stories in controlling and responding to the pandemic. However, we are still not out of the woods, like no country is out of the woods today.

Mr. President,

It was obvious from the outset that developing countries would need fiscal space to respond to, and recover from, the COVID crisis.

Debt relief is one of the best ways to create that fiscal space for developing countries. Therefore, in early April, I called for a “Global Initiative on Debt Relief”.

We appreciate the G-20’s official debt suspension initiative and the emergency and rapid financing offered by the IMF, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and UN Agencies.

This, however, is not going to be enough.

The IMF has estimated that developing countries will need over US$ 2.5 trillion to respond and recover from the crisis.

The official debt suspension will need to be extended and expanded. Additional debt relief measures will also be needed.

Development Banks should ensure adequate financial inflows.

Rich countries have generated over ten trillion dollars to finance their own response and recovery. They should support the creation of at least US$500 billion in new Special Drawing Rights for the developing world.

Mr. President,

In my address to the General Assembly last year, I had highlighted the tremendous damage that illicit financial flows from developing countries to rich countries and to offshore tax havens cause. This leads to the impoverishment of the developing nations. Money that could be used towards human development is siphoned off by corrupt elites. The loss of foreign exchange causes currency depreciation that in turn leads to inflation and poverty.

The quest for getting back these stolen resources is nearly impossible, given the cumbersome procedures. Moreover, the powerful money launderers have access to the best lawyers. And sadly, because they are the beneficiaries, there is a lack of political will in the rich countries to curb this criminal activity.

Mr. President,

If this phenomena is unaddressed, it will continue to accentuate the inequality between the rich and the poor nations, and eventually will spark off a far bigger global crisis than the present migration issue poses.

The rich states cannot hold forth on human rights and justice when they provide sanctuary to money launderers’ and their looted wealth.

There are robust anti-Money Laundering and anti-Terrorist Financing regimes. I call upon this Assembly to take the lead in efforts to build a global framework to stem the illicit financial flows and ensure speedy repatriation of stolen wealth.

It is important to realize that the aid that flows from rich countries to the developing world is miniscule compared to the massive out-flows by our corrupt elites.