UNITED NATIONS, Oct 10 (APP): A senior Pakistani diplomat Friday drew the United Nations’ attention to the persisting threats from India to strike Pakistan again — despite its “humiliating” defeat in the conflict in May, saying the Indian indignation was dismissive of the world community’s desire for peace, stability and risk reduction.
Speaking in the UN General Assembly’s First Committee, which deals with disarmament and international security matters, Ambassador Bilal Ahmad said that South Asia was once again brought to the brink by India’s unprovoked military assault against Pakistan in May – employing dual-capable missiles, autonomous loitering munitions and fighter aircraft, in violation of the UN Charter and international law.
“This marked the first-ever use of such capabilities by one nuclear-armed state against another,” said Ambassador Ahmad, who is Pakistan’s permanent representative to UN offices in Geneva.
Pakistan, he said, exercised its right of self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter, with a precise response, downing seven Indian aircraft and forcing India to seek a ceasefire, facilitated by US President Donald Trump and supported by several other friendly countries.
“Notwithstanding this humiliating defeat, the Indian leadership persists in describing these reckless actions as the ‘new normal’ in South Asia, vowing to strike Pakistan again, whenever it chooses, on any pretext it can manufacture,” the Pakistani envoy said.
In this regard, he pointed out that the Indian political and military leaders speak openly, including just last week, of “changing geography” and “erasing Pakistan from the map,” indulging in the dangerous delusion that one nuclear-armed state can simply wipe another off the face of the earth.
“Is this ‘new abnormal’ acceptable in a region where two nuclear-armed states live side by side?” he asked.
India, he added, continues to evade bilateral dialogue on nuclear and missile restraint, as well as on risk-reduction measures, calling it’s “conduct unbecoming of a responsible custodian of nuclear weapons” as the last formal talks on nuclear and conventional confidence-building measures were held more than a decade ago.
“Since then, emboldened by its perceived military and technological asymmetry, India has treated dialogue not as a responsibility, but as an instrument of coercion and leverage.”
Ambassador Bilal Ahmad said Pakistan stands ready for a composite, comprehensive and result-oriented dialogue with India on all outstanding issues, including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions.
“Our proposal on a Strategic Restraint Regime (SRR) in the region for avoidance of a mutually debilitating arms race also remains on the table,” he told delegates from around the world.
Noting that there was an increasing resort to the unilateral use of force, the Pakistani envoy said the war in Gaza has been a stain on the collective conscience of the international community.
Pakistan, he said, welcomes the announcement of an agreement on the first phase, hoping it will lead to a permanent ceasefire and lasting peace.
At the global scale, Ambassador Ahmad said nuclear arsenals were being modernized, destabilizing technologies were being developed, and new domains
weaponized.
“The arms control architecture is being systematically dismantled, with now even the last remaining bilateral arms control agreement set to expire early next year.”
In this context, he called for a durable and equitable international peace and security architecture.
The Pakistani envoy criticized the proposal for a treaty banning only the production of fissile materials, saying it seeks to perpetuate existing asymmetries by excluding from its scope several metric tonnes of existing stocks that can produce thousands of new nuclear weapons.
“Such proposals that are cost-free for their proponents but disregard the legitimate security needs of others will remain a non-starter.”
APP/ift