In his 25-minute address, prime minister highlights Middle East and other conflicts, violation of global laws, humanitarian crises, disinformation, arms race, and climate change
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in his 25-minute impressive address at the UN General Assembly in New York, highlighted crises and conflicts in Middle East and South Asian regions besides some parts of African continent, violation of global laws, humanitarian crises, disinformation, arms race, emerging technologies and climate change. On the other hand, a visible majority in the 193-member world body rejected beleaguered Israeli prime minister, as delegates streamed out while leaving seats empty.
Benjamin Netanyahu, who has an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for war crimes, received open rejection from Pakistan and delegates of many other countries. While Shehbaz Sharif received huge respect and attention as he reached the UN Headquarters in New York. In his speech, the prime minister highlighted human rights violations in Kashmir and Palestine, condemned terrorism, and reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to peace and dialogue but vowed to resolutely defend the nation against any external aggression or India’s usurpation of water rights.
He told the world leaders that Pakistan believed in the peaceful settlement of disputes through dialogue and diplomacy and said that Pakistan confronted the unprovoked Indian aggression in May, proving his words at the UN General Assembly during the previous address true. “Last year, from this very podium, I had warned that Pakistan would act most decisively against any external aggression. Those words proved true when, in May this year, my country confronted unprovoked aggression from our eastern front,” he said while pointing out towards May war with India.
“The enemy came shrouded in arrogance; we sent them back in humiliation. Our valiant armed forces, under the stellar leadership of Field Marshal General Asim Munir, mounted an operation of stunning professionalism and bravery. Our falcons – the Pakistan Air Force jets – took flight and etched their answer across the skies, resulting in seven of the Indian jets turned to scrap and dust, a decisive response to the aggressor that will echo through the annals of history,” the prime minister said, adding India sought to extract political gains from a human tragedy by spurning his offer of an investigation into the Pahalgam incident.
Instead, he said India attacked Pakistan’s cities, and targeted innocent civilians compelling the country to respond as per the inherent right of self-defense. “To the fearless architects of this victory, to every officer and soldier, heirs of our martyrs, their names are forever engraved in glory. To mothers of our martyrs, their courage guides our path forward and their sacrifice shall never be in vain. And to every Pakistani, you stood as one unbreakable wall,” he remarked. “We have won the war and now we seek to win peace in our part of the world. This is my most sincere and serious offer before this august UN assembly.”
He said that Pakistan stands ready for a composite, comprehensive and result-oriented dialogue with India on all outstanding issues. He said that South Asia requires proactive, rather than provocative leadership. Despite being in the position of strength, he said that Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire, facilitated by US President Donald Trump’s bold and visionary leadership that averted a more threatening, a full-fledged and catastrophic war between the two nuclear powers. “Had he not intervened timely and decisively, the consequences of a full-fledged war would have been catastrophic,” he said, and informed the assembly that Pakistan nominated the American president for a Nobel Peace Prize.
He spoke highly of the diplomatic support to Pakistan by China, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Iran, UAE, and the UN secretary-general. Coming to the Indian attempt to unilaterally hold in abeyance the Indus Waters Treaty, Shehbaz Sharif told the General Assembly that Pakistan would definitely and ardently defend the inalienable right of its 240 million people on these waters. “Pakistan has made it abundantly clear, and let there be no doubt, we will definitely and ardently defend the inalienable right of our 240 million people on these waters. To us, any violation of this treaty represents an act of war,” he said.
He reminded the world that India’s unilateral and illegal attempt to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance defied the provisions of the treaty itself, as well as the norms of international law. He told the world body that for nearly eighty years, India had tried to muzzle the voices of the brave people of Kashmir. He assured the Kashmiri people that the people of Pakistan stood with them and soon India’s tyranny in the occupied territories would come to a grinding halt. He said Kashmir would gain its fundamental right to self-determination through an impartial plebiscite under the United Nations.
The prime minister, who spoke at length on the ongoing Israeli aggression in Gaza, called it the most heart-wrenching tragedies of this times, a stain on the global conscience, and a collective moral failure. “In the West Bank, each passing day brings new brutality, illegal settlers who terrorize and kill with impunity and nobody can challenge them and question them. And in Gaza, Israel’s genocidal onslaught has unleashed unspeakable terror upon women and children in a manner we have not witnessed in the history,” he said, underscoring the Israeli leadership had unleashed a shameful campaign against the innocent Palestinians, which history would always remember as one of its darkest chapters.
Reiterating Pakistan’s support for the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state, with pre-1967 borders, and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, he said Palestine must be liberated as it could no longer remain under Israeli shackles. He welcomed the recognition of the State of Palestine by a number of countries recently and urged others to also follow the suit, besides thanking President Trump for inviting Arab-Islamic states for a consultative session at the United Nations, which rekindled hope for a ceasefire in near future. Calling Israel’s recent attack on Doha a reflection of rogue behavior, he said Pakistan supported efforts for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict in line with the UN Charter to end human suffering, and global turmoil.
He said that Pakistan condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations as the country had been at the frontline of global counter-terrorism efforts – having suffered over 90,000 casualties and endured over US$150 billion in economic losses. He said that terrorism could impact the world regardless of boundaries. “For that Pakistan’s sacrifices are probably the biggest around the globe. It must be respected and appreciated because we are a bulwark. Had these terrorists not been encountered by us, they would have been roaming in the streets of New York and London and Far East. This is our humble contribution not only for the people of Pakistan but also the people all over the world,” he added.
He touched on challenges of the hate speech, discrimination or violence against any person, or religion, and said the hate-driven ideologies, like India’s Hindutva-driven extremism, posed a danger to the entire world. “While there is growing recognition of dangers posed by Islamophobia, imperative of combating this menace can hardly be overemphasized,” he remarked, and welcomed appointment of a UN special envoy to combat this scourge. Coming to the climate crisis, he told the General Assembly that Pakistan was again dealing with another mega flood, which washed away thousands of villages, killed over a thousand people, displaced millions, and destroyed billions of dollars of crop, livestock and property.
Despite contributing less than one percent of global emissions annually, he said that Pakistan was facing relentless brunt of climate disasters. Nevertheless, he said Pakistan was enhancing its climate resilience and concurrently expanding use of clean energy. However, he urged the developed countries – most responsible for the climate crisis – to deliver on climate finance commitments to support climate actions in developing countries. He said the developing countries could not afford more debt burden to achieve climate resilience. He said that Pakistan was addressing climate change while putting socio-economic development and public welfare on priorities.
Besides the structural economic reforms, modernized taxation, boosted investment, and embraced digitization, AI, and cryptocurrency are among the structural reforms introduced by the government, he said. He said that Pakistan’s strategic partnership with China, through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor under President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, drove the country’s progress. He commended President Xi’s Global Governance Initiative and other global efforts for promoting just and inclusive development. As a non-permanent UN Security Council member, he said Pakistan actively supported conflict prevention, as shown by unanimous adoption of Resolution 2788 under its presidency, reinforcing multilateralism and the UN Charter principles.
Netanyahu receives what he deserves
In his remarks, the Israeli prime minister frequently praised President Donald Trump, his chief ally in his approach in the region, and said that the ‘changes’ across the Middle East have created ‘new’ opportunities. He said that Israel had begun negotiations with Syria aimed at reaching ‘security’ arrangements with the country’s new government. He asserted he believes the Middle East would look ‘dramatically different’ in the near future. “Our two ancient peoples – the people of Israel and the people of Iran – will restore a friendship that will benefit the entire world,” he told the empty seats.
Benjamin Netanyahu called on the Lebanese government to begin talks with Israel, which he said his country has already launched with Syria. “I call on the Lebanese government to also begin direct negotiations with Israel. I commend it for its declared aim to disarm Hezbollah, but we need more than words,” he said. “If Lebanon takes genuine and sustained action to disarm Hezbollah, I’m sure we can achieve a sustainable peace,” he said. After more than a year of fighting between Lebanon and Israel, the two countries entered into a ceasefire agreement in November 2024.
The Israeli prime minister criticized leaders of several nations who recognized a Palestinian state this week, saying it sends a clear message that ‘murdering’ Jews pays off. “This week, the leaders of France, Britain, Australia, Canada and other countries unconditionally recognized a Palestinian state,” he said, adding that they did so after the ‘horrors’ committed on October 7. “When the most savage terrorists are exclusively praising your decision: You didn’t do something right, you did something wrong, horribly wrong,” he said. “Your ‘disgraceful’ decision will encourage terrorism against Jews and against ‘innocent’ people everywhere,” he said.
