Riaz Haq writes this data-driven blog to provide information, express his opinions and make comments on many topics. Subjects include personal activities, education, South Asia, South Asian community, regional and international affairs and US politics to financial markets. For investors interested in South Asia, Riaz has another blog called South Asia Investor at http://www.southasiainvestor.com and a YouTube video channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkrIDyFbC9N9evXYb9cA_gQ
The United Nations has declared March 15 the "International Day to Combat Islamophobia". Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was the first world leader who highlighted the global rise in Islamophobia in a speech in September, 2021 at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Khan's speech was followed by the adoption of a Pakistani resolution at the UNGA co-sponsored with the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) on March 15, 2022 to observe "International Day to Combat Islamophobia" on March 15 every year.
Ex Prime Minister Imran Khan Speaking at the United Nations.
In his September 2021 speech at UNGA, Imran khan said that “the worst and most pervasive form” of Islamophobia “now rules India”. The “Hindutva ideology” being promoted by the Narendra Modi Government has unleashed “a reign of fear and violence” against India’s 200-million Muslims.
India has just 5.75% of global Twitter users but the country accounts for 55% of all anti-Muslim tweets, according to a recent report entitled "Islamophobia in the Digital Age" published by the Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV). It also found that the US, the UK, and India contributed a staggering 86% of anti-Muslim content on Twitter during a three-year period. It should be noted that both the US and the UK have a sizable Indian diaspora infected by hateful Hindutva ideology.
The growing hate that Muslims face is not an isolated development, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told attendees at a a high-level March 10 event at the UN Headquarters in New York. “It is an inexorable part of the resurgence of ethno-nationalism, neo-Nazi white supremacist ideologies, and violence targeting vulnerable populations including Muslims, Jews, some minority Christian communities and others,” he said.
The UN HQ event was co-convened by Pakistan, whose Foreign Minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, underscored that Islam is a religion of peace, tolerance and pluralism. Although Islamophobia is not new, he said it is “a sad reality of our times” that is only increasing and spreading.
“Since the tragedy of 9/11, animosity and institutional suspicion of Muslims and Islam across the world have only escalated to epidemic proportions. A narrative has been developed and peddled which associates Muslim communities and their religion with violence and danger,” said Mr. Zardari, who is also Chair of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers. “This Islamophobic narrative is not just confined to extremist, marginal propaganda, but regrettably has found acceptance by sections of mainstream media, academia, policymakers and state machinery,” he added.
Ms. Saima Saleem, Pakistan's young visually-impaired woman diplomat, is currently serving at the country’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Saima graduated from Lahore's Kinnaird College for Women. She won the Quaid-e-Azam Gold Medal for her outstanding academic performance and stood first in the Punjab Public Service Commission examination.
Saima Saleem
She spoke earlier today at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) 2021 to exercise her country's right of reply to false accusations leveled by Indian diplomat Sneha Dubey.
Saima Saleem rejected Dubey's claim that Jammu and Kashmir is "an integral part of India", and proceeded to describe India's brutal military occupation of the disputed territory. She reminded delegates of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions to this effect.
Saleem spoke of Indian government's massive human rights violations exposed by the UN Human Rights Commission and other rights organizations. Saleem said Indian leadership is obsessed with Pakistan.
She also shared EU Disinfo Lab's recent disclosure of the scope, scale and duration of India's massive disinformation campaign against Pakistan.
Rejecting India's allegations of terrorism against Pakistan, Saleem said India's arguments are those of an occupier seeking to delegitimize popular resistance as "terrorism".
Here's a video of Saima Saleem's UNGA Speech today:
How was Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's UN General Assembly speech received? Was he right to tell the audience that Prime Minister Narendra Modi belongs to RSS, the right-wing Hindu Supremacist organization whose member killed Mahatma Gandhi? Does the world know that RSS founders were inspired by Nazism and Fascism? And the RSS members admire Gandhi's murderer Nathuram Godse? Is it hypocritical of Modi to exploit Gandhi's name in his UNGA speech and elsewhere in the West? Do Hindutva followers want to have it both ways? Benefit from Gandhi's name in the West while destroying Gandhi's legacy in India?
Why did Imran Khan talk about the connection between US war on terror after 911 and the rise of Islamophobia? How have countries like India exploited the war on terror to defame genuine Kashmiri resistance movement as terrorism?
What will happen when Modi lifts restrictions on 8 million Kashmiris living under total lock-down since August 5, 2019? Is Modi riding the tiger and afraid of getting off of it? Is Imran Khan right to fear a massacre by nearly million-strong Indian forces? Will India call it "cross-border terrorism" and blame it on Pakistan? Will Modi again try to pull a Balakot? Could it start India-Pakistan war? Would it escalate into a nuclear conflict killing billions around the world?
ALKS host Faraz Darvesh discusses these questions with Sabahat Ashraf (ifaqeer) and Riaz Haq (www.riazhaq.com)
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's sudden U-turn on foreign minister level talks with Pakistan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly has come under fire from within India. The top Indian critics of Mr. Modi's flip-fop include former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Mr. Sharat Sabharwal, ex foreign secretary Nirupama Menon Rao and seasoned journalists Suhasini Haider and Shekhar Gupta.
Pakistan's new prime minister Mr. Imran Khan extended his hand of friendship to India that led to a mutual agreement for the two countries to meet on the sidelines of the upcoming annual UN General Assembly meeting. However, the foreign minister level meeting was canceled by India a couple of days later with a nasty message from Indian foreign ministry to Prime Minister Imran Khan alleging that he has shown his "true face" and exposed his "evil agenda". Prime Minister Imran Khan responded with an equally nasty tweet talking of "small men occupying big offices" that do not have the vision to see the larger picture" without naming Prime Minister Modi.
Nirupama Rao asked in a tweet: "Why is diplomacy seen as a cave-in when it comes to India-Pakistan relations?" And then went to say that "a meeting in New York is not an instrument of surrender". Ex High Commissioner Sabharwal said in a tweet: "IFS (Indian Foreign Service) does not draft such election oriented statements or take such hasty flip flop decisions. Seems handiwork of 'muscular' thinking. More 'brawn' than 'brain'!"
Ex Indian diplomats' chorus of criticism was joined by journalist Shekhar Gupta who tweeted: "Is this MEA statement drafted by the same dudes who write scripts for commando-comic channels?
And seriously: can’t believe IFS drafted it. They know Imran has been PM for exactly a month, not “first few months.”" Suhasini Haider chimed in with a tweet of her own: "Clumsier still is the MEA statement. Have seldom seen such a crudely worded and badly articulated explanation from our diplomats."
The clumsy excuses like the "latest killing" along LoC in Kashmir and Burhan Wani postage stamps for cancellation have also been questioned by "The Wire Analysis" published in thewire.in. The "latest killing" occurred before Indian government agreed to the meeting and the planned Burhan Wani stamp release was also known well in advance.
So why did it go from the hopeful meeting to saber rattling between the two South Asian neighbors? Did the Modi government cave in to pressure from within his Hindu Nationalist base? Have India's far right-wing leaders whipped up so much anti-Pakistan hysteria that they have made it extremely difficult to talk peace and friendship with the western neighbor? Has the talk of "chhappan inch ki chhati" (56 inch chest) and "boli nahi goli" (bullets, not talks) radicalized Mr. Modi's base and left little room to maneuver for his government on its Pakistan policy?
What are Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's objectives of his visit to New York? What did he say to the world at UN General Assembly? How was his interview with David Sanger at Council for Foreign Relations in New York? What were his key messages? What cards does Pakistan hold to agree on a mutually-beneficial transactional relationship with the Trump administration in terms of Afghan policy? What are Pakistan's options if Trump does not agree to Pakistan's proposals?
Why did President Donald Trump choose to make a threatening speech at UN General Assembly? What does he hope to accomplish by intimidating Iran and North Korea? Will the US allies go along with Trump's belligerent strategy vis-a-vis Iran and North Korea? How will killing the Iran nuclear deal impact America's chances of reaching a diplomatic solution with North Korea?
Was Kulsoom Nawaz's victory in NA-120 bypolls unexpected? What do the results mean for the upcoming general elections in Punjab? Does PMLN's significantly reduced majority in NA-120 win send a warning to the ruling party that it faces tough competition from Imran Khan's PTI in future elections? Are the big losses suffered by the PPP and the religious right in NA-120 an indication that Punjab will be a battleground between PMLN and PTI in 2018 elections? Is PPP no longer relevant in Punjab?
Viewpoint From Overseas host Misbah Azam discusses these questions with panelists Ali H. Cemendtaur and Riaz Haq (www.riazhaq.com)
The U.S. relationship with Pakistan has always been essentially transactional since the early days of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. What would the quid pro quo look like between Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and the Trump administration in the current differences over America's new Afghan policy? Let's try and answer this question.
Transactional History:
Aid and cooperation has been forthcoming whenever successive American administrations needed something from Pakistan and then suddenly stopped and sanctions imposed on Pakistan when the US goals were accomplished. This happened in 1960s, 1990s and likely to happen yet again now under the Trump administration.
The history of the relationship is such that Pakistan has often been described variously as "the most allied ally" and "the most sanctioned ally" in the last few decades.
Trump's Tough Talk:
U.S. President Donald Trump, a real estate developer, sees all bilateral and multilateral negotiations with other nations through the lens of his experience in real estate deals. The Trump administration has shown itself to be far more transactional with US allies than any previous administration. President Trump is now threatening to get tough with Pakistan after 16 years of Afghan war with no end in sight as the Taliban continue to expand influence in the country. There's talk in Washington about cutting off aid and possible sanctions on Pakistan yet again. What cards does Pakistan hold in any negotiations with the Trump administration? Can Pakistan play hardball with the United States?
Pakistan's Cards:
Speaking at an event organized by the Council of Foreign Relations in New York, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the following:
"... the (US) military assistance (to Pakistan) is very limited at the moment. In the past, if you want to do an accounting of the past, that can also be done. But I’m telling you that today, for example, over a million (US) sorties are flown by coalition aircraft through Pakistan territory, and we never bill for that. Millions of tons of (US) equipment moves through Pakistan territory on the ground. We never bill for that, because we believe in the war against terror. We supported that coalition, we continue to support efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan. So if we want to go back into history and start accounting for how many dollars were spent, Pakistan, as I said, post-9/11, the most conservative numbers: We lost $120 billion in economic growth."
US-Pakistan Negotiations:
If the Trump administration decides to cut whatever little aid Pakistan receives from the United States, Pakistan could demand significant fees for the use of Pakistani territory by the United States to supply its troops. If the US refuses, Pakistan could simply cut off the NATO supply route as it did back in 2011 after the Salala incident.
Summary:
Given the transactional nature of the relationships the Trump administration seeks, what would a transaction look like between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi? It could be in the form of Pakistan continuing to allow the use of its airspace and land routes to supply US troops in Afghanistan for substantial fees that could add up to more than the US aid to Pakistan today. If the US balks at it, Pakistan could simply cut off US supply routes as it did back in 2011 after the Salala incident.
"A new generation of Kashmiris has risen spontaneously against India's illegal occupation - demanding freedom from occupation. Burhan Wani, the young leader murdered by Indian forces, has emerged as the symbol of the latest Kashmiri Intifada, a popular and peaceful freedom movement, led by Kashmiris, young and old, men and women, armed only with an undying faith in the legitimacy of their cause, and a hunger for freedom in their hearts." Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
In an 18 minute speech to 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly today, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan condemned India's brutal military occupation of Kashmir and demanded a swift end to it.
Mr. Sharif called for a UN-sponsored plebiscite under multiple UN Security Council resolutions to let the Kashmiris decide their own future. He said Pakistan is always ready for an unconditional dialogue with India to resolve all outstanding disputes including the core issue of Kashmir.
In an apparent reference to India's proxy war against Pakistan, the Prime Minister said, " We will not allow externally sponsored terrorism and threats of destabilization to cause turbulence in Pakistan."
In his speech, The Prime Minister asked for an independent inquiry into the continuing extrajudicial killings of innocent Kashmiris by Indian security forces. He said Pakistan is the principal victim of terrorism in South Asia region. He said his country seeks peace, not war or an arms race with its neighbor to the east.
The Prime Minister said Pakistan is "ready for talks (with India) to agree on a bilateral nuclear test ban treaty". He said Pakistan meets all the requirements for membership of the Nuclear Supplies Group.
Here's the full text of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's speech:
Mr. President,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
We congratulate Mr. Peter Thomson on his election as President of the 71st Session of the
General Assembly.
We agree that implementation of the Sustainable Development Agenda
should be the focus of this Session.
We also pay tribute to Mr. Mogens Lykketoft for his capable stewardship of the 70th Session
Mr. President,
Today, three decades after the end of the Cold War, our multipolar world is more free and
vibrant, yet still chaotic and turbulent; more interdependent, but more unequal; more prosperous,
yet still afflicted with poverty.
We see spectacular progress, but also unprecedented human suffering.
The world is at a historic inflection point.
The international order established after the Second World War is passing away, but a new order
has yet to emerge.
Competition between the major powers is becoming more confrontational. This can pose serious
threats to peace across Asia.
A new Cold War threatens to engulf Europe. The momentum there towards "greater union" has
already reversed, Baricades and walls are going up, especially against the tide of misery flowing
out of a turbulent Middle East, In many countries, intolerance has revived the ghosts of
xenophobia and Islamophobia.
Turmoil is intensiffing in the Middle East, International efforts to defeat Daesh are therefore
urgent. For this, it is essential to reconcile the divergent objectives and priorities of regional and
external powers.
Peace cannot be built when injustice prevails. The long festering tragedy of Palestine demands
determined action by the international community
Mr. President,
After decades of strong growth, the world economy has reached a plateau.
Despite this adverse international economic environment, my government has, in three short
years, moved the country towards robust growth.
We have fully integrated the 2030 Development Agenda into our own economic and social
strategy.
This rests on our conviction that people are the true wealth of our nation and that it is human
development, which will determine our future destiny.
Mr. President,
Our priority goal of economic development requires internal peace and stability. My country has
been the principal victim of terrorism including that supported, sponsored and financed from
abroad.
We will not allow externally sponsored terrorism and threats of destabilization to cause
turbulence in Pakistan.
Tens of thousands of our citizens and thousands of our security personnel have been killed or
injured in terrorist attacks.
This has only reinforced our resolve to eliminate the scourge of terrorism. Our comprehensive
strategy of law enforcement and targeted military operations has produced remarkable results and
enabled Pakistan to turn the tide against terrorism.
Pakistan's Zarb-e-Azb Operation is the largest, most robust and most successful anti-terrorism
campaign anywhere in the world, deploying 200,000 of our security forces.
Our comprehensive National Action Plan has the complete endorsement of our people and our
Parliament as well as our security forces, all of whom have made heroic sacrifices to defeat
terrorism.
Mr. President,
Terrorism, however, is now a global phenomenon, which must be addressed comprehensively and
in all its forms, including State terrorism.
The international community must coordinate its efforts to accomplish this. These efforts should
be taken collectively and not unilaterally by the passage of any laws with extra-territorial
application targeted against certain countries.
We will not win the fight against terrorism and violent extremism so long as we do not address
their root causes. These lie in poverty and ignorance, political and social injustice and oppression,
foreign intervention and occupation and denial of the legitimate rights of peoples and nations,
especially the right to self-determination.
Until these underlying causes are addressed, it will be difficult to counter the twisted narrative of
violent extremists and terrorists.
Mr. President,
After 15 years of the current war in Afghanistan, the international community agrees that the only
road to a lasting peace in that country is through a dialogue between the Government in Kabul
and the Afghan Taliban.
Pakistan has long proposed this as the most viable course to end decades of conflict and suffering
in Afghanistan.
Based on this belief in a negotiated peace, and in response to requests from President Ashraf
Ghani, we have been facilitating the process of reconciliation in Afghanistan.
There have been setbacks. That, however, is not a sufficient reason to abandon the path of peace
and rely on the military option, which has failed, for the past decade and a half, to stabilize
Afghanistan.
Progress will be assured only when the Afghan parties themselves conclude that there is no
military solution to the Afghan war, and work assiduously, through a meaningful dialogue
process, for achieving reconciliation and peace at home.
Mr. President,
Over three and a half decades of conflict and chaos in Afghanistan has had grave security and
economic consequences for Pakistan. Almost three million Afghan refugees, to whom we opened
our homes and hearts, remain in Pakistan.
We hope to see them return to Afghanistan, voluntarily and with dignity
Until they do, the international community must shoulder its responsibilities to sustain them.
Mr. President,
Confrontation should not be our destiny in South Asia. Pakistan wants peace with India, I have
gone the extra mile to achieve this, repeatedly offering a dialogue to address all outstanding
issues.
But India has posed unacceptable preconditions to engage in a dialogue. Let us be clear: talks are
no favor to Pakistan. Talks are in the interest of both countries. They are essential to resolve our
differences, especially the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, and to avert the danger of any escalation.
Mr. President,
Peace and normalization between Pakistan and India cannot be achieved without a resolution of
the Kashmir dispute. This is an objective evaluation, not a partisan position.
Our predictions have now been confirmed by events. A new generation of Kashmiris has risen
spontaneously against India's illegal occupation - demanding freedom from occupation. Burhan
Wani, the young leader murdered by Indian forces, has emerged as the symbol of the latest Kashmiri Intifada, a popular and peaceful freedom movement, led by Kashmiris, young and old,
men and women, armed only with an undying faith in the legitimacy of their cause, and a hunger
for freedom in their hearts.
Mr. President,
This indigenous uprising of the Kashmiris has been met, as usual, with brutal repression by
India's occupation force of over half a million soldiers. Over a hundred Kashmiris have been
killed, hundreds, including children and infants, blinded by shotgun pellets and over six thousand
unarmed civilians injured over the past two months.
These Indian brutalities are well documented. I would like to inform the General Assembly that
Pakistan will share with the Secretary General a dossier containing detailed information and
evidence of the gross and systematic violations of human rights committed by Indian forces in
occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
These brutalities will not suppress the spirit of the Kashmiris; it will only intensiff their anger and
fotlify their determination to see India end its occupation of Kashmir. From Srinagar to Sopore,
the men, women and children come out each day, def,ring curfew, to demand freedom.
Mr. President,
Pakistan fully supports the demand of the Kashmiri people for self-determination, as promised to
them by several Security Council resolutions. Their struggle is a legitimate one for liberation
from alien occupation.
International law and the declarations of the United Nations on Self Determination, give the
Kashmiri people the right to struggle for their freedom. Every year, the General Assembly
unanimously adopts the resolution, which reaffirms "the right of all people's to self-determination"
and calls on the states concerned to immediately end their occupation and "all acts
of repression."
Mr. President,
On behalf of the Kashmiri people; on behalf of the mothers, wives, sisters, and fathers of the
innocent Kashmiri children, women and men who have been killed, blinded and injured; on
behalf of the Pakistani nation, I demand an independent inquiry into the extra-judicial killings,
and a IJN fact finding mission to investigate brutalities perpetrated by the Indian occupying
forces, so that those guilty of these atrocities are punished.
We demand the immediate release of all Kashmiri political prisoners; an end to the curfew;
freedom for the Kashmiris to demonstrate peacefully; urgent medical help for the injured;
abrogation of India's draconian 'laws'; and removal of the foreign travel ban on Kashmiri
leaders.
Mr. President,
The Security Council has called for the exercise of the right to self- determination by the people
of Jammu and Kashmir through a free and fair plebiscite held under IIN auspices. The people of
Kashmir have waited 70 years for implementation of this promise. The Security Council must
honour its commitments by implementing its own decisions. This General Assembly must demand that India deliver on the commitments its leaders solemnly made on many occasions
To this end, steps should be taken by the United Nations to de-militarize Jammu and Kashmir and
undertake consultations with India, Pakistan and the true representatives of the Kashmiri people
to implement the resolutions of the Security Council. In this context, we welcome the offer of
good offices by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. We will also open consultations with members
of the Security Council to explore the modalities for implementation of the Security Council
resolutions on Kashmir.
Mr. President,
The international community ignores the danger of rising tensions in South Asia, at its own peril.
For its part, Pakistan is committed to the establishment of strategic stability in the region. It
neither wants, nor is it engaged in an arms race with India.
But we cannot ignore our neighbor's unprecedented arms build up and will take whatever
measures are necessary to maintain credible deterrence.
We have consistently urged the conclusion of bilateral arms control and disarmament measures
between Pakistan and India to prevent conflict and avoid wasteful military expenditures.
We are open to discussing all measures of restraint and responsibility with India, in any forum or
format and without any conditions. We are ready for talks to agree on a bilateral nuclear test ban treaty.
Today, from this rostrum, I would also like to reiterate our offer to India to enter into a serious
and sustained dialogue for the peaceful resolution of all outstanding disputes, especially Jammu
and Kashmir.
Mr. President,
As a responsible nuclear weapon state, Pakistan will continue to cooperate with all international
efforts that seek to promote fair and equitable solutions to disarmament and non-proliferation
challenges.
We have introduced 'state of the aft' measures to strengthen the safety and security of our nuclear
materials and facilities. We have adopted a comprehensive export control regime that is fully
consistent with international standards.
Judged on the basis of objective criteria, and without discrimination, Pakistan is fully eligible for
membership of the Nuclear Suppliers' Group.
Mr. President,
In our turbulent and interdependent world, the United Nations remains an indispensable
Organization to restore order and ensure global peace, stability and prosperity. Its principles
remain the crucial pillars of international legality, the guide for the conduct of Member States and
the guarantor of the legitimate rights of all nations and peoples.
The IIN must regain its credibility as the central instrument for the promotion of peace, prosperity
and liberty.
To that end, it should become more representative, transparent and accountable. A comprehensive
and democratic reform of the Security Council, which Pakistan supports, should enhance its
relevance and representation, Creating new centers of privilege will do the opposite.
Mr. President,
Pakistan's unwavering commitment to the UN is well established. We have played a pioneering
and consistent role in UN Peacekeeping.
Despite our own security requirements, we will remain one of world's largest troop contributing
countries and maintain our record of success in multiple UN peacekeeping operations.
Mr. President,
Pakistan has a vital stake in ending conflicts, fostering peace, fighting terorism, strengthening
democracy, promoting human rights, generating global growth and overcoming the challenges of
environmental degradation. We can achieve these goals, and create a new and peaceful world
order, only through the United Nations and by strict adherence to the principles of its Charter.
I thank you, Mr. President.
Here's a video of Prime Minister Sharif's UNGA speech:
