Pakistani Prime Minister calls for international support for Taliban-led Afghan government

Washington: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has called on the international community to support the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan to prevent the humanitarian crisis in the country, it was reported on Saturday.

"Right now the whole international community should think what is the way ahead. There are two paths that we can take. If we neglect Afghanistan right now, according to the UN half the people of Afghanistan are already vulnerable, and by next year almost 90% of the people in Afghanistan will go below the poverty line. There is a huge humanitarian crisis looming ahead. And this will have serious repercussions not just for the neighbors of Afghanistan but everywhere," Khan said on late Friday addressing the UN General Assembly, as quoted by the Nation newspaper.

From the prime minister's point of view, further destabilization of Afghanistan would turn the country into a safe haven for terrorists.

Pakistan an arsonist disguised as firefighter, a suppressor of minorities: India hits back at Imran Khan

New York: India on Friday slammed Pakistan as an “arsonist disguising itself as a firefighter” and a country that nurtures terrorists in its backyard as a matter of state policy which has led the entire region and world to suffer, in reply to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s tirade against the country at the UN General Assembly.

Sneha Dubey, First Secretary in India's UN Mission, in a scathing attack on Pakistan, also reminded the world that Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, was sheltered in Pakistan.

“The world has not forgotten that the mastermind behind the dastardly event Osama bin Laden got shelter in Pakistan,” she said, and added that the Pakistani leadership continues to glorify Osama as a martyr.

“Regrettably, even today we heard the leader of Pakistan trying to justify acts of terror. Such defence of terrorism is unacceptable in the modern world,” she said, exercising India’s Right of Reply.

Referring to the state of minorities in Pakistan, she said: “Today, the minorities in Pakistan, the Sikhs, Hindus, Christians, live in constant fear and state-sponsored suppression of their rights. This is a regime where anti-Semitism is normalised by its leadership and even justified. Dissenting voices are muzzled daily and enforced disappearances and extra judicial killings are well documented."

Responding to Imran Khan's claims about treatment of minorities in India, the young diplomat said: "Pluralism is a concept which is very difficult to understand for Pakistan which constitutionally prohibits its minorities from aspiring for high offices of the State. The least they could do is introspect before exposing themselves to ridicule on the world stage”

“Unlike Pakistan, India is a pluralistic democracy with a substantial population of minorities who have gone on to hold highest offices in the country including as President, Prime Minister, Chief Justices and Chiefs of Army staff. India is also a country with a free media and an independent judiciary that keeps a watch and protects our Constitution."

On Imran Khan's allegations of "war crimes" by India, she referred to the genocide perpetrated in Bangladesh in 1971 during and before the War of Independence in which more than 300,000 people were killed by Pakistan and hundreds of thousand women raped.

“This is also the country that still holds the despicable record in our region of having executed a religious and cultural genocide against the people of what is now Bangladesh.

“As we mark the 50th anniversary this year of that horrid event in history, there is not even an acknowledgement much less accountability.”

"This is not the first time the leader of Pakistan has misused platforms provided by the UN to propagate false and malicious propaganda against my country, and seeking in vain to divert the world's attention from the sad state of his country where terrorists enjoy free pass while the lives of ordinary people, especially those belonging to the minority communities, are turned upside down."

"This is a country which has been globally recognized as one openly supporting, training, financing and arming terrorists as a matter of State policy. It holds the ignoble record of hosting the largest number of terrorists proscribed by the UN Security Council," she said.

Categorically emphasising India’s position, she said: "Let me reiterate here that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were, are and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. This includes the areas that are under the illegal occupation of Pakistan. We call upon Pakistan to immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation."

On the conditions for peace, she said: "We desire normal relations with all our neighbours, including Pakistan. However, it is for Pakistan to work sincerely towards creating a conducive atmosphere, including by taking credible, verifiable and irreversible actions to not allow any territory under its control to be used for cross border terrorism against India in any manner."(UNI)