United Nations: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Friday said his country was ready for a “composite, comprehensive and result-oriented” dialogue with India on all outstanding issues, as he criticised New Delhi over the situation in Kashmir.
In his address to the General Debate of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, Sharif also referred to the ‘Operation Sindoor’ and claimed that “seven of the Indian jets” were damaged during the four-day conflict in May.
Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh last month said Indian jets shot down five Pakistani fighter jets and a large aircraft during ‘Operation Sindoor’.
India targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir during the operation launched on May 7 in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.
Sharif said Pakistan believes in the “peaceful settlement of disputes through dialogue and diplomacy.”
“This is my most sincere and serious offer before this august assembly of the world nations. Pakistan stands ready for a composite, comprehensive and result-oriented dialogue with India on all outstanding issues,” he said.
The composite dialogue was launched in 2003 when General Pervez Musharraf was ruling Pakistan. It had eight baskets of components, containing all contentious issues between the two countries. The dialogue was derailed after the 2008 Mumbai attacks and not restored in proper form.
In his address, Sharif praised US President Donald Trump, saying his “efforts for peace helped avert a … war in South Asia”.
“In recognition of President Trump’s wonderful and outstanding contribution to promote peace in our part of the world, Pakistan nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. This is the least we could do … I think he truly is a man of peace,” he said.
India has been consistently maintaining that the understanding on cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was reached following direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations of the two militaries.
Sharif made a brief visit to Washington DC Thursday, where he, along with Field Marshal Asim Munir, met Trump in the White House. Sharif described Trump as a “man of peace” and lauded his “courageous and decisive” leadership in facilitating a ceasefire between Pakistan and India.
The Pakistani leader also referred to India’s decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack. “To us, any violation of this Indus Treaty represents an act of war,” he said.
As Pakistan has done every year, Sharif raised the issue of Kashmir in his address.
Sharif said that the people of Pakistan stand with the people of Kashmir and “Kashmir will gain its fundamental right to self-determination through an impartial plebiscite under the auspices” of the United Nations.
Sharif said Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, adding that his country faces “externally-sponsored terrorism”, particularly from “foreign-funded” groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Balochistan Liberation Army and its Majid brigade.
He also said that “there must be no space for hate speech, discrimination or violence against any person, or against any religion”.
On Gaza, he said the plight of the Palestinian people was one of the “most heart-wrenching tragedies of our time”.
“We cannot and must not fail these children of Gaza, or any child anywhere in the world. We must find a path to a ceasefire now,” he said, as he reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for a sovereign Palestinian state with pre-1967 borders and Jerusalem as its capital.
On the climate crisis, he said Pakistan demands “urgent collective action”.
PTI
