NEW YORK: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday addressed the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and urged the world to tackle climate change, money laundering, and Islamophobia besides highlighting Indian atrocities in Occupied Kashmir.
The premier started his speech by highlighting the climate change issue and urged the world leaders to rise up to the challenge and take steps like controlling deforestation, plastic, and air pollution to save the planet.
PM Imran Khan was of the view that the world’s top economies should come forward to help the developing countries tackle the ever-rising threat of climate change.
ON TAX-HAVENS, MONEY LAUNDERING
The premier lamented that one of the major issues developing countries face is corruption by their ruling elite and how these corrupt elements find tax havens and money laundering opportunities in developing countries.
“When my party came to power, we saw that some of our ruling elite had sent millions abroad and bought properties in other countries but to recover this wealth became a Himalayan task,” said Imran Khan.
The PM urged the world to make laws to stop what he termed the plunder of the developing world by the corrupt ruling elite.
“Why are these tax havens there in the first place,” asked the PM.
ON ISLAMOPHOBIA
The prime minister then urged the world leaders to tackle the rapid rise of Islamophobia, by terming it the major cause of radicalisation of innocent Muslims.
“There is no such thing as radical Islam, this term ‘radical Islam’ was coined by some politicians for political benefits. Neither Islam nor any other religion radicalises anyone, only injustices and discrimination do so,” said the premier.
The PM maintained that it was the responsibility of Muslim leaders post 9/11 to teach the world about Islam and remove the west’s misconceptions about Islam but they failed to do so.
Imran Khan was of the view that it is the injustices and discrimination like Muslim girls face when they wear hijab in the west, which leads to alienation and radicalisation.
ON INDIA’s ILLEGAL ANNEXATION OF OCCUPIED KASHMIR
The PM told the world body that his government tried to approach India for talks before this move but the Indian side’s refusal was the factor talks couldn’t move forward.
“We thought it was because India’s ruling party (BJP) was running an election campaign and wanted anti-Pakistan rhetoric for its success so we backed off, then Pulwama attack happened in which a Kashmiri youth attacked Indian forces but they blamed it on Pakistan without taking into account what led a Kashmiri youngster opted to become a suicide bomber,” said the PM.
The PM added that the Indian government not only attempted an airspace violation on February 27 but Narendra Modi also boasted about it terming it “a trailer of a lengthier movie”.
He was of the view that Modi follows the Hindu-supremacist party RSS’s ideology, which was behind Gandhi’s killing and the current wave of mob lynchings in India.
“Modi is a life-member of RSS; when he was the chief minister of Gujarat in the year 2002, he allowed for three days, a massacre of Muslims of the state,” said Imran Khan.
The premier maintained that on August 5, the Modi government took a step which closed all doors of dialogue between the two nuclear-armed neighbours i.e. the illegal annexation of Occupied Kashmir.
“Today, India is treating the Kashmiris worse than animals, they are being locked in their houses, there is a complete curfew,” said the PM.
He urged the world to take note of Indian atrocities in Kashmir for the valley is nearing a bloodbath.
“If they (Indian government) lifts the curfew in Kashmir, the people will react and then Indian army will unleash a bloodbath, should the world keep silent?” asked the PM.
He maintained that it is the United Nations which, through its resolutions, promised the right of self-determination to people of Kashmir and now should take some action lest the two nuclear-armed neighbours go to war.
“What the world should do now? It should appease a market of 1billion people or help oppressed people (of Kashmir)? Imran Khan asked the world.
He ended his speech by warning the world leaders that if their silence results to a bloodshed in Occupied Kashmir, it will have consequences for the whole world.
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