Play proactive role on Kashmir issue, Nawaz tells Ban

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has slammed the Indian leadership for its recent irresponsible statements about Pakistan and asked the UN Secretary General to play a proactive role in the resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.
The prime minister was talking to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe on Tuesday where he is attending a conference on culmination of international decade of action on “Water for Life” 2005-15 and had a meeting with him on the sidelines of the conference.
Nawaz told the secretary general that Pakistan had a strong and steadfast relationship with the UN and the country highly appreciated Ban Ki-Moon’s leadership in advancing the key objectives of peace and development.
He said that support for peacekeeping missions was a strong element of Pakistan’s foreign policy. Pakistan has been among the top contributors to the UN’s peacekeeping operations and would continue to respond to calls for peacekeeping, he said.
Talking about Pakistan’s counter terrorism measures, the prime minister said the country had formulated a 20-point National Action Plan (NAP) adopting a policy of zero tolerance for and unflinching dedication towards countering this menace.
He reiterated to the Secretary General that the overriding foreign policy priority of his government is the establishment of a peaceful neighborhood, which is vital for the wellbeing and prosperity of the entire region.
To this end, he has reached out to all of Pakistan’s neighbours, including India and Afghanistan. He recalled his high-level meetings with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and said that their close cooperation as well as at other levels of Pakistan government with their Afghan counterparts had contributed to trust and confidence between the two states. The two countries are also closely cooperating on special measures to strengthen their bilateral ties in various spheres including economy, trade and counter terrorism, he added.
As regards India, the prime minister said there appeared to be no acknowledgement of the initiatives he had taken to promote a dialogue process with that country. In fact recent statements by the Indian leadership had been deeply disappointing, he said.
The prime minister urged the UN Secretary General to play a proactive role in promoting peace and normalization in the region. He stressed that it is incumbent on the UN Security Council to ensure early implementation of it’s commitment as reflected in the Security Council’s resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.
Ban Ki-Moon recalled his visit to Islamabad and spoke of his great admiration for the Prime Minister’s bold and far sighted policies. Federal Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Special Assistant to PM Syed Tariq Fatemi and additional Secretary Fawad Hasan Fawad were also present in the meeting.
Earlier leaders of Pakistan and Tajikistan vowed early completion of the Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA 1000 project) enabling the former to import 1,000 MW of electricity to address its growing energy needs.
Addressing press stakeout along with host President Emomali Rahmon during his 36-hours visit to Tajikistan, the Prime Minister said that Pakistan would also explore further avenues of energy cooperation with the Central Asian Republic.
He said that he held wide-ranging consultations with the Tajik leaders, covering the whole spectrum of bilateral relations, and regional and international issues of mutual concern. “We reviewed our excellent political relations and agreed that there is a vast potential for expansion of cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, investment, education, science, culture, energy, transport, defence and security.”
The Prime Minister said that the two countries decided that the Joint Commission on Energy and Infrastructure, established in June 2014, would meet twice a year to explore the possibilities of mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of energy and infrastructure.
“We agreed on enhancing connectivity by air, road and rail for the promotion of our economic relations, people-to-people contacts and tourism. We have concurred with the proposal by a Tajik airline to fly to Pakistan and hope the operation will start soon.”
The prime minister said that the two sides also agreed to strengthen economic cooperation by optimally utilizing the existing institutional mechanisms, especially through the Pakistan-Tajikistan Joint Ministerial Commission.
He said that Tajikistan was Pakistan’s closest neighbour in Central Asia, located at the confluence of South and Central Asia, and was a gateway to the region. He said similarly Pakistan offered the shortest possible route to the sea to countries in the region through its ports.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that it was important for Pakistan’s socio-economic development to eliminate the scourge of international terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking and other threats to regional and global security.
“We have once again resolved to collectively fight against these evils,” he said. He said that both Pakistan and Tajikistan were cooperating closely at the UN, NAM, G-77, OIC, ECO and SCO.
“We reiterated our mutual desire to deepen this cooperation. We agreed to work closely on the important issue of reform of the UN Security Council.” He said the parliaments of the two countries were interacting closely and reinforcing the efforts of the two governments for closer ties. “Parliamentary exchanges take close friendship to the grassroots level, as these represent the will of the people.” President Rahmon has accepted invitation to visit Pakistan.
Speaking on the occasion, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon said that both sides expressed mutual interest to further promoting their relations in communication, transport, education, defence and security and other fields.
He said both the countries also agreed to fight the issues of terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking and its control. Earlier, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon held one-one-one talks followed by a delegation-level meeting. The whole range of bilateral relations came under discussion.
At delegation level talks, Pakistan proposed holding of the Fifth Session of the JMC on October 7-8, 2015 in Islamabad. Both Pakistan and Tajikistan agreed to hold an exhibition of Pakistani products in Dushanbe in October 2015, which will facilitate introduction of Pakistani products in Tajikistan and the region.
The two sides also emphasized the importance of the Joint Commission on Energy & Infrastructure, which was established on the instructions of Tajik President and Pakistan’s Prime Minister.
Addressing the conference Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif Wednesday stressing the need for preserving water said it was one of main pre-requisites to succeed globally in march towards a prosperous and sustainable future for present and future generations.
He called upon the need to draw upon multiple best examples for enhanced national, regional and global cooperation on water and sanitation-related challenges. The event was also attended by President of Tajikistan, UN Secretary General and other dignitaries.
“We will need an integrated, coordinated and balanced approach with strengthened regional and global partnership at all levels to ensure effective implementation of the renewed water related goals, targets and commitments.”
The Prime Minister in this regard said provision of enhanced means of implementation will be critical and resource mobilization, capacity-building and technological assistance will require special attention.
He said water was one of the main pre-requisites to succeed globally in the march towards a prosperous and sustainable “future we want” for present and future generations. Prime Minister Nawaz said the source for water was finite and a major challenge. He said global demand for water was ever increasing and urbanization and climate change was added to the complexities of the challenge. He said water was crucial for poverty eradication, cross-sectoral economic growth, environmental sustainability and food and energy security.
He said provision of safe and affordable water to all, sanitation, sustainable management of water resources, investment in water infrastructure, and trans-boundary cooperation have been some of the issues on the global agenda for quite some time.
Prime Minister Nawaz reminded that Pakistan was one of the co-sponsors of the UN Resolution that established the International Decade. He identified several milestones in this regard and said the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) target of “halving, by 2015, the proportion of population without safe drinking water and sanitation,” was met well ahead of time.
He said the UN has recognized access to safe drinking water and sanitation as a human right. The Prime Minister said by 2025, two third of the world’s population might be facing water-stress, as during the same period, water demand would shoot up by 40%.
He said the challenge was expected to be more intense for Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States. Risks of flooding and drought due to climatic and other factors, threaten lives and livelihoods undermining sustainable economic growth and prosperity. “We also need to promote new ways of trans-boundary cooperation on water, accommodating mutual interests, and building trust and confidence.” He said later this year, an ambitious and transformative universal Post-2015 Development Agenda will be adopted in New York. He said water constitutes the core of sustainable development as it has impact on all its three dimensions.
The Prime Minister said Pakistan being host to some of the world’s biggest glaciers, has at the same time one of the most climate-vulnerable and was a “water-stressed” country. He said Agriculture-sector was the backbone of national economy and it was but natural that Pakistan should attach high importance to water related issues.
He said Pakistan was committed to achieving 100% access to improved drinking water and sanitation and sufficient and unhindered supply for various purposes - domestic, agriculture and industrial- through implementation of sectoral development plans and strengthening institutional capacities with well-defined human resource development plans.
The Prime Minister said in addition to expanding existing infrastructure, improving governance and efficient management of water resources and use, including through use of modern technology; investing in improving water quality and safeguarding national water resources, constitute some of the fundamental priorities in the water sector.
“Our Vision 2025 includes the objective of inclusive growth through water security, value addition, research, modernization and best practices of water management.”