Musharraf's address to United Nations on Nov. 10, 2001
un.org
PAKISTAN
Statement by His Excellency General Pervez Musharraf
President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
at the Fifty Sixth Session of the United Nations General Assembly
New York
10 November 2001
Please check against delivery
Mr. President
Mr. Secretary General
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to extend to you, Mr. President, my felicitations on your election. I also wish to congratulate your
predecessor Mr. Harri Holkeri for his stewardship of the millennium session of the General Assembly. Deep
appreciation is also due to the Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan for his untiring efforts to translate the vision of
the Millennium Declaration into policies and actions by the World Community.
Mr. Secretary General, please also accept my heartiest congratulations on the award of the centenary Nobel Peace
Prize conferred upon you and your organization and your election for a second term to your prestigious office.
Last year, at the Millennium Summit, all of us were looking forward to a renaissance in the new Millennium. A
renaissance in the hearts and minds of people, for a better world where peace and justice would prevail.
Unfortunately, today we gather against the somber backdrop of the terrorist outrage that the world witnessed in
shock and horror on that fateful day of l l September. In seconds images of fire and death reached all of us.
Thousands of innocent lives were lost in minutes. Eighty nations lost some of their brightest and their best. Pakistan,
like the rest of the world mourned the colossal loss of innocent lives. The map of the world changed and the entire
globe descended into a deep crisis. At a time of such great turmoil when there is indeed a need for clear thought
and firm action, I come from Pakistan with a message of determination and resolve as well as a message of peace
for all peoples.
The General Assembly this year meets under the shadow of a horrendous act of terror perpetrated against the
people of the United States, an act for which no grievance or cause can ever be a justification, an act that must be
condemned unambiguously and in the strongest words. This was an attack on humanity itself, and we all must
therefore, unite to fight this scourge.
Mr. President,
Now that the world has bonded itself to fight against terrorism, it is time for introspection. We owe it to posterity
that in this dark hour we shed light on some dangerous and growing trends, misconceptions and misperceptions
which, if not cleared, may lead the world into even greater disorder and disharmony.
The religion of Islam, and Muslims in various parts of the world, are being held responsible for the trials the world is
facing. This point of view is totally misplaced. Just as all religions teach peace and love for fellow beings, so does
Islam place upon its adherents the obligation to do good, to be generous, merciful, kind and just to fellow beings.
The Muslim greeting Assalam-o-Allaikm meaning "Peace be upon you" symbolizes the very essence of Islamic
faith. Islam is a religion of peace, of compassion and of tolerance.
Terrorism is not a Christian, Buddhist, Jewish or a Muslim belief. It is to be condemned no matter who the
perpetrator, be it an individual, a group or a state.
We need to ask ourselves what really causes these extreme acts around the world. To my mind it is the unresolved
political disputes the world over: disputes in Bosnia, Kosovo, Palestine, Kashmir and other places. Unfortunately
all these disputes involve Muslims, and more sadly the Muslims happen to be the victims in all which tends to give a
religious tinge to these otherwise political disputes. The lack of progress in resolution of these disputes has created
in them a sense of deprivation, hopelessness and powerlessness. The frustration gets even worse when such
disputes like Kashmir and Palestine remain unsettled for decades despite the United Nations Security Council
Resolutions. The question then is, whether it is the people asking for their rights in accordance with UN resolutions
who are to be called terrorists or whether it is the countries refusing to implement the UN resolutions who are
perpetrators of state terrorism. In Kashmir, Indian occupation forces have killed over 75,000 Kashmiris attributing
these killings to foreign terrorists. It is time India must stop such deceit. UN Security Council Resolutions on
Kashmir must be implemented.
Media images of the Palestinian child Muhammad Al Durrah were etched on the hearts and minds of people all
over the world. It is perverse to regard the rape of Kashmiri women as a punishment inflicted in the course of war.
The images of that moment when the World Trade Centre Tower came down will remain definitive for all the
agony, disbelief and loss that people suffer from acts of terror all over the world. All forms of terror must be
condemned, prevented and fought against, but in so doing the world must not trample upon the genuine rights,
aspirations and urges of the people who are fighting for their liberation and are subjected to state terrorism.
To fight the extremist, deprive him of his motivation. The extremist survives in an environment where millions suffer
injustice and indignity. Deprive him of his support by giving the world peace, security, justice and dignity for all
peoples regardless of faith, religion or creed.
A just and honourable solution for the people of Kashmir, an end to the miseries of the people of Palestine are the
major burning issues that have to be addressed vigorously, boldly, imaginatively and urgently. Unless we go to the
root causes, cosmetics will only make matters worse. Consider the analogy of a tree. Terrorists are like so many
leaves, you take out some, there will be plenty more and an unending growth. Terrorist networks are branches, you
prune a few and there will be others and more growth. The only way to go, is to go for the roots. Eliminate the
roots and there will be no tree. The roots, Mr. President, are the causes, which need to be addressed, tackled and
eliminated, fairly, justly and honourably. Give people back their dignity, their self-respect, their honour.
In essence, therefore, to tackle the issue of terrorism in its entirety, we need to follow a three-pronged strategy of
going for individual terrorists, moving against terrorist organizations and addressing disputes around the world in a
just manner.
After the events of l1th September, Pakistan took a deliberate principled decision to join the World Coalition in its
fight against terrorism. This decision has catapulted us, once again, as a front line state in the battle against
terrorism. While the people of Pakistan have accepted this new reality, they still suffer from a sense of betrayal and
abandonment, when, they were left in the lurch in 1989 after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. Then also,
we were a front line state and what we got in return was three million refugees, a shattered economy, drugs and
Kalashnikov culture, to be faced single handedly through our limited resources. Pakistan only hopes that the
mistakes of the past will not be repeated and Pakistan's legitimate concerns will be addressed. Our economy again
faces a crisis of a fall out of the operations in Afghanistan. We need financial and commercial support on an urgent
basis and hope that this will be forthcoming.
Mr. President,
After 11 September Pakistan had been trying its utmost with the Afghan government ever since Osama Bin Laden
and AI-Qaeda became an international issue, till the last moment, to avert military action in Afghanistan.
Regrettably, we did not meet with success and the coalition operation against terrorists in Afghanistan continues
with no immediate end in sight. Sadly enough, the civilian casualties in this action are getting projected more as an
open war against the already poor, suffering and innocent people of Afghanistan. The World in general and
Pakistan in particular mourns the loss of these innocent lives and sympathizes with the bereaved. It is desirable that
the military operation be as short and accurately targeted as possible. It is also essential that a fall back political
strategy be evolved which could attain the same objective as being sought through military application.
In its entirety dealing with Afghanistan, involves a three pronged strategy - the Military, Political and Humanitarian
cum Rehabilitation Strategies. It must remain the effort of the coalition to prevent a vacuum, leading to anarchy,
after achieving military objectives, through immediate application of political and rehabilitation strategies.
In our view, the political set up in Afghanistan must be homegrown and not imposed, ensuring the unity and
territorial integrity of Afghanistan, with a broad based, multi-ethnic dispensation, representative of the demographic
composition of the country.
The people of Afghanistan have been suffering the ravages and devastation of conflicts for over two decades. It is
the moral obligation of the World Community to support them generously. Assistance to Afghanistan should be in
two forms. Firstly, the ongoing humanitarian assistance and secondly, the post-military operations, rehabilitation and
reconstruction.
To offset the ill effects of the ongoing military operation, it is imperative that we launch a more coordinated and
concerted humanitarian relief effort inside and outside Afghanistan with a more generous funding. This will go a long
way to alleviate the sufferings of the common Afghan.
It is equally important that concurrently we formulate a post operation rehabilitation programme, once peace
returns to Afghanistan. This effort would entail, at the minimum, restoration of water management systems, reviving
of agriculture through land development, reconstruction of physical infrastructure (roads, buildings & utilities) and
establishment of institutions.
A stable and peaceful Afghanistan is in the vital interest of the region and in particular of Pakistan. Conditions must
be created for more than three million refugees in Pakistan to return to their country. We propose the establishment
of an "Afghan Trust Fund" under UN auspices for the rehabilitation and reconstruction process.
Mr. President,
I would now like to focus on the harsh realities in the developing countries which have a relationship with extremism
of all forms. Poverty and deprivation lead to frustration, making the masses vulnerable to exploitation by extremist
organizations. It is the collective, moral responsibility of the developed world to address this issue squarely, through
substantive economic uplift, poverty alleviation and social action programmes in the developing countries.
Economic imbalances have to be removed for a just; equitable and harmonious World Order. A major step in this
direction would be to reduce, if not eliminate, the debt burden, hanging as a millstone around the necks of the poor
and the under developed. The bigger tragedy of the third world is that their rulers, together with their minions,
plunder the country's wealth and are afforded easy access and safe havens to stash away the loot in the First
World. Since long, restrictions have been imposed on laundering of drug money and recently money for terrorists is
being choked. Why can similar restrictions not be imposed on loot money laundering?
I appeal through this forum to all the developed countries to legislate against deposits of ill-gotten money, to assist
in investigation against the looters and to ensure the early return of the plundered wealth to the countries of their
origin. In fact, I would not be far off the mark if I stated that with the return of this looted money, many of the
developing countries may be able to pay back their debts and revive their economies.
Mr. President,
Pakistan is also deeply conscious of the nuclear dimension of the security environment of our region, the danger it
poses and the responsibility it places on nuclear weapon states, particularly the two nuclear states in South Asia.
We are ready to discuss how Pakistan and India can create a stable South Asian security mechanism through a
peaceful resolution of disputes, preservation of nuclear and conventional balance, confidence building measures and
non-use of force prescribed by the UN Charter. In this context, we are ready to discuss nuclear and missile
restraints as well as nuclear risk reduction measures with India in a structured, comprehensive and integrated
dialogue.
Pakistan is fully alive to the responsibilities of its nuclear status. We have declared a unilateral moratorium on
nuclear testing. Pakistan was not the first to initiate nuclear tests and will not be the first to resume them. We are
ready to formalize a bilateral treaty with India for mutual test ban. We have strengthened our export controls and
have established multi-layered custodial controls on our nuclear assets. Let me assure you all, that our strategic
assets are well guarded and in very safe hands. We have constantly upgraded our command and control measures
and instituted an elaborate nuclear command control mechanism for iron clad custodial controls to ensure the safety
and security of our assets. Pakistan is opposed to an arms race in South Asia, be it nuclear or conventional. We
will maintain deterrence at the minimum level.
Mr. President,
I would now like to very briefly cover the internal developments in Pakistan. Over the past two years the focus has
been on our Economic Revival, Poverty Alleviation, Improving Governance, Political Restructuring and Introducing
Genuine Democracy in the country. We have successfully put in place a sound democratic structure, based on
empowerment of the people at the grass root levels. A revolutionary step has been taken by providing 1/3rd of the
seats to women at District level governing councils.
I want to put on record in this august gathering that Pakistan is proud of this representation and empowerment of
women, which is a unique feature in the world. Our resolve of holding elections to Provincial and National
Assemblies and the Senate in October 2002 in accordance with the road map announced last August, will remain
unchanged inspite of the prevailing environment in the region.
Mr. President,
In conclusion and, in keeping with this time of enormous trial and tribulations we are going through, I wish to make
an appeal.
An appeal for the sake of mankind, for the sake of our future generations and for the sake of a better world.
Let justice prevail, let no people be wronged, let sufferings be eliminated, let discontent be addressed, let humanity
rise as one Nation to eliminate subjugation of the weak, and let there be PEACE.
Thank you. |
