Imran to highlight Kashmir issue again in Sept 25 UNGA speech

By News Desk

UNITED NATIONS: Prime Minister Imran Khan will address the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly via video-link on September 25, according to an initial list of speakers officially released on Tuesday, during which he is expected to once again raise the Kashmir issue.

The general debate of the 193-member assembly, in which Prime Minister Khan will speak, traditionally a high-profile annual UN event, will open on September 22. But this year, it is expected to be a slimmed-down affair, with world leaders staying away from New York because of the coronavirus pandemic. They will be contributing set-piece speeches via video link.

According to the list, Imran Khan, who last year made his debut at the UN, is the sixth speaker in the afternoon session. “I expect that the Prime Minister will once again raise the cause of the Kashmiri people for self-determination and Azadi from Indian oppression,” Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram told APP’s special correspondent in New York.

He said the Prime Minister will also talk about Pakistan’s facilitation of and hopes for the peace process in Afghanistan, its successful response to the coronavirus crisis, debt relief for developing countries and other international issues in his wide-ranging address.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to speak on September 26, a day after Khan.

US President Donald Trump will deliver his speech on the morning of September 22, the opening day of the general debate, which will run through September 29. The US is traditionally the second speaker in the debate, after Brazil.

The General Assembly President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, said last month that each member state, observer state, and the European Union, was invited to submit a pre-recorded video, delivered by its designated high-level official, which will be played in the General Assembly Hall. Speeches will be limited to 15 minutes.