Swaraj, who reached New York last Saturday, had addressed the General Debate last year as well. (Source: MEA Twitter)
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday launched a blistering attack on Pakistan for providing safe haven to terrorism and its verbal duplicity, as she delivered her speech at the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly in New York. She said that Pakistan has also betrayed the US after it provided shelter to 9/11 perpetrator Osama Bin Laden. She said Laden was killed by US forces later but 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Sayeed is still roaming free in Pakistan. Swaraj’s speech at the global stage comes at a time when India has been trying to get a permanent seat at the UN and the recent killing of 3 SPO’s in Kashmir even as Pakistan invited foreign ministers of India for a talk.
Swaraj, who reached New York last Saturday, had addressed the General Debate last year as well. Speaking at a SAARC meeting on the sidelines of the UNGA session, she called for efforts to eliminate terrorism in all its forms. She also participated in several bilateral and multilateral meetings with her global counterparts, as well as met top UN officials. However, Swaraj had left the SAARC meeting early, in a move that was seen as a snub to Pakistan.
She said terrorism remained the single largest threat to peace and stability in the region and to the world. (Express file photo)
Speaking at the 73rd session of UN General Assembly, Sushma Swaraj on Saturday warned that the UN risks falling into irrelevance in the absence of fundamental reforms, saying multilateralism will collapse if the world body remains ineffective. For long, India has been calling for the reform of the UN Security Council along with Brazil, Germany and Japan. The four countries support each others' bids for the permanent seats in the top UN body, reports PTI."I began by highlighting the unique and positive role of the UN, but I must add that step by slow step, the importance, influence, respect and value of this institution is beginning to ebb," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in her address to the General Debate of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly here. Swaraj emphasised that the UN must accept it needs fundamental reform.
In a searing attack on Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Saturday said the neighbouring country was not only an expert in providing safe haven to terrorists but also at trying to mask malevolence with verbal duplicity. Addressing the 73rd United Nations General Assembly debate, Swaraj accused Pakistan of glorifying terrorists and refusing to see the blood of innocents.
“In India’s case, terrorism is not bred in some faraway land, but from across our border. Who can be a greater transgressor of human rights than a terrorist? Those who take innocent human lives in pursuit of war by other means are defenders of inhuman behaviour, not of human rights,” Swaraj said, referring to a report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which had called for an international probe into the numerous violations in Kashmir. READ MORE
Sushma Swaraj began her speech at the United Nations General Assembly by congratulating Ma Fernanda Espinosa on assuming the position as the President of the 73rd Session of the UNGA. Swaraj said that the first woman to occupy this eminent chair was an Indian Smt. Vijayalakshmi Pandit, in 1953.
"Who can be a greater transgressor of human rights than a terrorist? Those who take innocent human lives in pursuit of war by other means are defenders of inhuman behaviour, not of human rights. Pakistan glorifies killers; it refuses to see the blood of innocents," Swaraj said in her address.
"We are accused of sabotaging the process of talks. This is a complete lie. We believe that talks are only rational means to resolve the most complex of disputes. Talks with Pakistan have begun many times. If they stopped, it was only because of their behaviour," Swaraj said. She also referred to the last year incident at the UN session when Pakistan’s representative, using right to reply, displayed some photographs as “proof” of “human rights violations” by India. The photographs turned out to be from another country. Similar false accusations have become part of its standard rhetoric, she said.
Swaraj said that in 1996, India proposed a draft document on CCIT at the United Nations. Till today, that draft has remained a draft, because we cannot agree on a common language. On the one hand, we want to fight terrorism; on the other, we cannot define it.
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United Nations should run on principles of a family. A family runs on compassion, not trade. In UN, we cannot say this is me and mine, We should keep every country's goals in perspective. Sushma Swaraj also talked about 150 th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. She cited Gandhi's ideals on non-violence and love as necessary ingredients for UN's decision making process.
Swaraj corners Pakistan on playing a double game. She says that on one hand, the new government in Pakistan invites for talks and on the other hand kills three policemen in Jammu Kashmir. Who can be a greater transgressor of human rights than a terrorist? It has been a habit of Pakistan to throw the dust of deceit, she said.
Delivering a blow to Pakistan on terrorism, Sushma Swaraj said that Pakistan helped in hiding the mastermind of 9/11 US attacks Osama Bin Laden. She also accused Pakistan on giving safe haven to 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Sayeed.
She talks about Jan Dhan Yojana, India's largest pro-poor welfare scheme. Over 5 million homes for poor have already been constructed under a new housing scheme, she says. Swaraj also highlights other schemes such as Mudra Yojana and Ujjawala scheme. Under the Ujjwala scheme, 50 million free gas connections have been given so far, she says.
Sushma Swaraj expresses condolences for Indonesia earthquake as he began her speech at UNGA. She speaks about sustainable development goals (SDG) and the commitment of India towards this. She hails the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards achieving SDGs.
MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted regarding External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's speech at the UN General Assembly.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is also likely to speak on India-Pakistan relations, cross-border terrorism the country's long-pending demand for inclusion into the Security Council when she addresses the high-level United Nations General Assembly. Swaraj, who reached New York last Saturday, had also addressed the General Assembly last year. Her speech on the global stage comes amid troubled India-Pakistan relationship, especially after the brutal murder of a Border Security Force jawan in the Jammu region about 10 days ago.