From Yoshita Singh

United Nations: In a sharp rebuke to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s “tirade” on Kashmir, India today said those accusing others of rights violations must introspect as it censured Pakistan for the first time at the UNGA for perpetrating the “worst form of state oppression” in Balochistan.

Taking a veiled dig at Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in her address at the 71st UN General Assembly (UNGA) session said there are nations “in our midst” where UN designated terrorists roam freely and deliver “their poisonous sermons of hate with impunity”, an apparent reference to Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed.

She also made a strong pitch for isolating such nations who speak the language of terrorism and for whom sheltering terrorists has become “their calling card”.

“In our midst, there are nations that still speak the language of terrorism, that nurture it, peddle it, and export it. To shelter terrorists has become their calling card. We must identify these nations and hold them to account,” Swaraj asserted in her nearly 20-minute speech in Hindi.

“These nations, in which UN designated terrorists roam freely, lead processions and deliver their poisonous sermons of hate with impunity, are as culpable as the very terrorists they harbour. Such countries should have no place in the comity of nations,” Swaraj said, in essence making a call to the international community to isolate such nations.

In a strong rebuttal of the “baseless allegations” made by Sharif from the podium of the General Assembly about human rights violations by India in Kashmir, Swaraj said, “I can only say that those accusing others of human rights violations would do well to introspect and see what egregious abuses they are perpetrating in their own country, including in Balochistan. The brutality against the Baloch people represents the worst form of state oppression.”

Countering Pakistan’s claims that India has imposed pre-conditions on talks, Swaraj said India got the terror attacks of Pathankot and Uri “in return” for taking the initiative to resolve issues with Islamabad not on the basis of conditions but on friendship.

She told Pakistan to “abandon this dream” of obtaining Kashmir, asserting that Jammu and Kashmir is an “integral part of India and will always remain so”.

“It (Pakistan) persists in the belief that such attacks will enable it to obtain the territory it covets,” Swaraj said, adding that their plans will not succeed.

Swaraj forcefully rejected Sharif’s remarks in his General Assembly address last week that India has placed “pre-conditions” for talks which are not acceptable to him.

“What pre-conditions? Did we impose any pre-condition before extending an invitation for the oath-taking ceremony of our Government?” Swaraj said, referring to the unprecedented move by Modi to invite heads of the governments from the South Asian neighborhood, including Sharif, for his oath-taking ceremony in May 2014.

“Did we impose any pre-condition when I went to Islamabad for the Heart of Asia conference and agreed to begin the Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue? Did we impose any pre- condition when Prime Minister Modi travelled from Kabul to Lahore? What pre-conditions?,” Swaraj said, making a reference to the surprise visit Modi made to Lahore last December on his way back from Kabul.

In her address, Swaraj said India has attempted an unprecedented “paradigm of friendship” with Pakistan over the last years, which has included wishing the Pakistani leader on the festival of Eid, wishing success to the his cricket team and extending good wishes for his health. In return, she said for these gestures, India got the terror attacks in Uri and Pathankot.

“We took the initiative to resolve issues not on the basis of conditions, but on the basis of friendship! We have in fact attempted a paradigm of friendship in the last two years which is without precedent.

“We conveyed Eid greetings to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, wished success to his cricket team, extended good wishes for his health and well being. Did all this come with pre-conditions attached,” Swaraj said.

“And what did we get in return? Pathankot, Bahadur Ali, and Uri. Bahadur Ali is a terrorist in our custody, whose confession is a living proof of Pakistan’s complicity in cross-border terror,” she added.

Her speech came just over a week after 18 Indian jawans were killed in a deadly attack by Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists from across the border on an army base in Kashmir’s Uri.

Launching a blistering attack on Pakistan, Modi on Saturday warned Pakistan that the Uri terror attack will not be forgotten and the sacrifice of the jawans will not go in vain.

In early January this year, two security personnel were killed when a group of heavily armed militants attacked the Pathankot Air Force Station.

Ali, a Pakistani national allegedly working for terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba who hails from Jahama village of Raiwind in Lahore, was arrested from a village in north Kashmir on July 25.

The Army had found three AK-47 rifles, two pistols and Rs 23,000 in his possession. Ali was allegedly trained at a Lashkar camp in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Swaraj asserted that when confronted with such evidence, Pakistan “remains in denial”.

Swaraj’s attack on Pakistan comes after Prime Minister Modi, addressing the East Asia Summit in Laos earlier this month, had said that there is “one country in our neighbourhood” which “produces and exports” terror and had called on the international community to isolate and sanction “this” instigator.

In a speech in Kozhikode on Saturday, his first public address after the Uri incident, Modi had said that India will intensify its efforts so that Pakistan is completely isolated.

Swaraj asserted that terrorism deeply concerns every member of the UN General Assembly, with people from New York, Kabul, Uri and Istanbul bearing the brunt of the growing scourge.

“This month we marked the 15th Anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on this city. Tragically, less than 15 days ago, another attempt at killing innocents was made through an act of terror in this same city,” Swaraj said reffering to the bombings in Manhattan and New Jersey earlier this month.

“We, who have suffered in Uri recently, understand the pain inflicted by the same forces. The world has been battling this scourge for long. However, despite the blood and tears of innocent victims, attacks this year alone in Kabul and Dhaka, Istanbul and Mogadishu, Brussels and Bangkok, Paris, Pathankot and Uri as well as daily barbaric tragedies in Syria and Iraq, remind us that these malevolent forces are yet to be defeated,” she said.

Swaraj underlined that the international community must acknowledge that terrorism is undoubtedly the biggest violation of human rights and is a crime against humanity.

“It targets the innocent and kills indiscriminately.

Terrorism has gone way beyond affecting individuals or nations — it is a crime against humanity itself. But it is important to ask — who is behind this and who benefits from it? Terrorists do not own banks or weapons factories, so let us ask the real question: who finances these terrorists, who arms them and provides sanctuaries?” she said, adding that Afghanistan too had raised similar concerns on terror financing and safe havens from the UNGA podium. .

“History proves that those who seed extremist ideologies, reap a bitter harvest. The germ of evil has grown into a hydra-headed monster, backed by technological sophistication that threatens the peace and harmony of our world,” Swaraj said.

She called on the international community to unite across our differences to defeat terrorism, saying the fight against the global scourge cannot be won if distinctions are made between terrorists.

“We will not be able to win against terrorism by making specious distinctions between your problems and mine, between terrorists who attack you and those who attack me. For we do not know who this Frankenstein’s monster will devour next,” she said.

There is only one way to defeat terrorism and that is to “unite across our differences, add steel to our resolve and inject urgency in our response,” she said.

Nations must forget their prejudices and join hands together to script an effective strategy against terror, Swaraj stressed.

“This is not an impossible task provided we have the will.

We can do it, we must do it. Otherwise our future generations will forever hold us to account. And if any nation refuses to join this global strategy, then we must isolate it,” she asserted.

India to play leading role in combating climate change: Swaraj

India, which will ratify the landmark Paris climate deal next month, today said it will continue to play a leading role in combating climate change but asked developed nations to fulfill their responsibilities through more contribution to finance and technology transfer.

In her address to the UN General Assembly here, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said climate change is a serious challenge confronting the world as there are “enough resources on this planet to fulfill everyone’s needs but not enough to fulfill anyone’s greed since greed is limitless”.

She told the 193-member UN body that India will submit its Instrument of Ratification of the Paris Agreement on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi who “epitomised a lifestyle with the smallest carbon footprint”.

“I assure this Assembly that India will continue to play a leading role in combating climate change,” she said while noting that in the Paris Agreement, the principle of ‘Common but Differentiated Responsibilities’ and ‘Respective Capabilities’ has been acknowledged and accepted.

“This makes clear that while our responsibility is common, obligations are different. Developed nations must discharge their responsibility in the search for the common good, with finance and technology transfer,” Swaraj said as she referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call for “climate justice”.

Swaraj pointed out that India has launched an ambitious domestic effort to transform its energy mix to achieve 40 per cent energy from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.

“The massive investments required to entail a predictable and stable environment towards which we are working actively.

Apart from this, our path-breaking initiative for an International Solar Alliance is intended to make efficient solar technology available for all,” she said in her nearly 20-minute speech in Hindi.

Swaraj underlined that the true challenge of the current times is to end the “curse of harsh poverty” that still lurks in so many corners of the world and to ensure that the fruits of growing prosperity reach those who need it most. MORE PTI YAS SAI ZH AKJ

Swaraj said nations must take forward the mission of gender equality and protect women where there is gender regression and ensure peace across boundaries, “because there can be no prosperity without peace”.

She noted that the 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are matched by the development vision of the Modi government, which is geared towards the achievement of these same objectives through various flagship programmes such as ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’, ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’, ‘Make in India’, ‘Jan Dhan Yojana’, ‘Digital India’ and ‘Skill India’.

“These initiatives have added a new dimension to India’s growth story, making it the fastest growing major economy in the world at a time of slow global growth,” she said.

Noting that 1/6th of humanity lives in India, Swaraj said global success in realising SDGs depends on the success achieved in India.

“We are committed to the wholehearted implementation of the Agenda 2030 as a national effort,” she said, adding that it has been decided to dedicate one day in each session of the Parliament for discussions only on SDGs in order to constantly monitor their progress.

“However, in a globalised world, national effort needs to be supplemented by international cooperation for the successful implementation of Agenda 2030. We must curb reckless consumption, and adopt lifestyles in harmony with nature,” she said, noting that Yoga, the storehouse of India’s ancient wisdom, epitomises a sustainable lifestyle.

PM praises Swaraj for UNGA address

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today praised External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for her speech at the UN General Assembly, saying she had made “firm, effective and fine articulation” of a range of issues.

“Congrats to EAM @SushmaSwaraj for a firm, effective & fine articulation of a wide range of global issues at UNGA,” he tweeted shortly after Swaraj delivered the address.

Swaraj, in a sharp rebuke to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s “tirade” on Kashmir, said those accusing others of rights violations must introspect.

She censured Pakistan for the first time at the UNGA for perpetrating the “worst form of state oppression” in Balochistan.

Taking a veiled dig at Pakistan, the External Affairs Minister said there are nations “in our midst” where UN designated terrorists roam freely and deliver “their poisonous sermons of hate with impunity”, an apparent reference to Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed.

She also made a strong pitch for isolating such nations who speak the language of terrorism and for whom sheltering terrorists has become “their calling card”.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan also praised Swaraj for her address at the UN.

She said the External Affairs Minister had given a “clear and tough” message on the issue of terrorism.

Swaraj also put forth strongly her point on the issue of development, the Speaker said.

Congress expresses disappointment over Swaraj’s UN address

Congress tonight expressed deep disappointment over Sushma Swaraj’s address in the UN, insisting that the Modi government has “failed us again by its meek response” by not calling Pakistan a “terror state”.

“Deeply disappointed by EAM Sushma Swaraj’s address in UN.

Even steered shy of calling Pak a ‘terror state’. Strategic ambiguity writ large,” Party chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said in a series of tweets.

The tweets followed External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in which she sharply rebuked the Pakistan’s tirade on Kashmir.

“If India won’t determinedly ask for diplomatic & economic sanctions against Pak in UN, who will? Modi Govt again failed us by meek response.”

“Why is EAM Sushmaji shy of calling ‘a spade a spade’ in UN? Why did we not call upon UN for diplomatic & economic sanctions against Pakistan?”, he said.

Another Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said whenever an Indian representative speaks on foreign soil, it is not the time for politics as the entire country stands behind him or her.

“The whole country is with Sushma Swaraj, she did a valiant effort,” Singhvi said.

Singhvi, however, hoped that government should have taken some concrete steps against Pakistan before going to the United Nations.

Surjewala asked as to “Why did EAM forget to place Pak sponsored terrorist attacks in Gurdaspur, Udhampur & 2attacks in Pompore in UN? Modi Govt placating Pakistan still?”

Surjewala said that the nation wants concrete action against rogue Pakistan not aimless political acronyms and rhetoric as seen in UN.

“They have not called a Parliament session to declare Pakistan a terrorist state, they have not done anything to withdraw the MFN status, they have not imposed severe economic sanctions against Pakistan, no scale down of high commissions.

“They have not done anything on ground for concrete actions, yes some efforts to isolate Pakistan globally but that’s not enough. These had to be done before we reached UN, then our case would have resonated better, that’s our unfulfilled aspirations,” Singhvi said.

He added, “domestic concrete actions by government is not behind her to strengthen her. I had asked earlier that had Sushma gone to United Nations on the 10th day from the Uri attack with certain concrete steps taken by the government instead of Prime Minister’s address at Kerala, cabinet meet and ‘jumlas’, her position would have been stronger.”

PTI