Pakistan terms Kashmir, Palestine disputes UN's most glaring, long-standing failures

ISLAMABAD: Kashmir and Palestine disputes are the United Nation’s (UN) most glaring and long-standing failures, said Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday.

Virtually addressing the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations in New York, the foreign minister said the people of Indian Occupied Kashmir (IoK) still await the fulfillment of the UN’s commitment made to them for granting them their long-sought right to self-determination.

Referring to the UN’s role, Qureshi said that the global body addressed a historic need "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war", to “reaffirm equal and fundamental rights of men and women and nations large and small”, and to “promote better life in larger freedoms”.

The minister went on to say that, today, the UN resolutions and decisions are flouted; international cooperation, especially in the Security Council, is at its lowest; force is threatened with abandon; critical treaties and covenants – designed to promote the development and protect the globe's fragile environment – are discarded.

FM Qureshi, according to the report, pointed out that the very forces that led to the Second World War, racism, and fascism are taking the shape of rising xenophobia and Islamophobia.

He said while we have seen enormous international cooperation to combat COVID-19, it has failed to unify humanity as it could have.

Underlining Pakistan's contributions to the world body, Qureshi said Pakistan remains an ardent believer in multilateralism and the indispensability of the United Nations and has contributed over 200,000 troops to 47 Missions in 26 countries, losing 157 of our bravest in the process.

He added that the country has also hosted the largest protracted refugee population.