Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in all praise for External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for her stellar speech at the UN General Assembly on Thursday night. In a series of tweets, Modi congratulated Swaraj for giving a befitting reply to Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s UN speech.
The Prime Minister said that Swaraj rightly emphasised on the need to end all forms of terror and had wonderfully highlighted India’s contributions to the United Nations. He also said that her speech was a perfect articulation of key global issues.
Rejecting Sharif’s 4-point formula for peace, India said Pakistan needs to address “just one” issue of ending cross-border terror for the dialogue to start on all outstanding matters as it proposed NSA-level talks to discuss the matter.
Addressing the UN General Assembly, Swaraj raised the issue of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks masterminds roaming freely as also the “illegal occupation” of parts of Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan, a day after Sharif raked up Kashmir issue at the UN.
Asserting that “none of us can accept that terrorism is a legitimate instrument of statecraft,” she pressed the world community to show zero tolerance towards it and ensure that countries which provide finances, safe havens and arms to terrorists “pay a heavy price” for it.
“Talks and terror cannot go together”, she said while making it clear that India “remains open to dialogue” but terrorism emanating from Pakistan is hampering normalisation
of bilateral relations.
“Yesterday the Prime Minister of Pakistan proposed what he termed as a four-point new peace initiative. I would like to respond. We do not need four points, we need just one – give up terrorism and let us sit down and talk,” Swaraj said in her 25-minute speech before the 193-member body.
Sharif had on Wednesday mooted a 4-point “peace initiative” with India — demilitarisation of Kashmir, “unconditional and mutual withdrawal” of forces from Siachen, restraint by both countries from “use or the threat of use of force under any circumstances” and formalisation of the 2003 border ceasefire.
Sharing the challenges that India faces in its ties with Pakistan, Swaraj said “None of us can accept that terrorism is a legitimate instrument of statecraft.”
“The world shared our outrage at the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in which citizens of many nations were helplessly butchered,” Swaraj said.
“Not only have past assurances in this regard not been honoured (by Pakistan) but new cross-border terrorist attacks have taken place recently, in which two terrorists from across the border have also been captured alive,” Swaraj said.
One of the terrorists was caught alive during attack on BSF convoy in Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir. “We all know that these attacks are meant to destabilize India and legitimize Pakistan’s illegal occupation of parts of the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir and its claim on the rest of it,” the Indian minister said.
Targeting the UN on its 70th anniversary, she said it “appears as an ineffective institution” when gauged on the parameters of whether it has been able to prevent conflicts, managed to find permanent solution to these conflicts or showing the path of peace to the world which is going the way of violence.
