At UN Pakistan PM calls for halt to US drone strikes

Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, used his speech at the UN General Assembly to call for a halt to the attacks by American unnamed spy aircraft in the country’s tribal regions.

“The use of armed drones in the border areas of Pakistan is a continued violation of our territorial integrity,” he said.

Nawaz Sharif said drone strikes result in casualties of innocent civilians and is detrimental to Pakistan’s resolve and efforts to eliminate extremism and terrorism from Pakistan.

The Prime Minister said he has urged the United States to cease drone strikes so that “we could avert further casualties and suffering.”

The Prime Minister hoped that soon Palestine would join the UN as a full member state.

He said resumption of the stalled peace process should lead to the consolidation of an independent‚ viable and contiguous state of Palestine‚ based on the pre-1967 border‚ with Al Quds Al Sharif as its capital.

He appealed to the Syrian Government and opposition groups to move to the negotiating table in Geneva to prepare a road map for national reconciliation and the necessary political transition.

He said Pakistan remains opposed to the use of chemical weapons and condemns its use in the strongest terms.

About Afghanistan‚ the Prime Minister said Pakistan supports an inclusive‚ Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process‚ leading to national reconciliation.

Nawaz Sharif said during his visit to Pakistan‚ he assured President Hamid Karzai that Pakistan does not wish to interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs and its has no favorites in that country.

He said Pakistan encourages UN efforts for the stabilization of Afghanistan.

“We will work together with Afghanistan for regional and economic cooperation that would establish and reinforce regional trade‚ energy and communications corridors.”

He said a manifestation of our solidarity with the Afghan people has been our willingness to hit millions of Afghan refugees in Pakistan for many decades.

The Prime Minister said he has tried to forge national consensus on a cohesive policy to eliminate terrorism from our soil.

“We are resolved to oppose the forces of terrorism‚ by all means at our disposal. At the same time‚ we have offered dialogue to end violence‚ wean young extremists off extremism‚ and integrate all segments of our society into the national mainstream.”

He‚ however‚ said dialogue should not be seen as a sign of weakness or a tool of appeasement.  The Prime Minister said the war against terrorism must be waged within the framework of international law.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=41813

Posted by Tahir Khan on Sep 27 2013. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.