Prime Minister Imran Khan’s virtual address at United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has been widely hailed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where experts of international relations, politicians and defence analysts highly praised his bold stand on issues of Afghanistan, Illegally Indian Occupied Jummu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Islamophobia, COVID-19 and climate change.
Appreciating Prime Minister Imran Khan’s address, Professor Dr Khurshid Ahmed, International Relations, University of Peshawar told APP on Sunday that the premier has bold highlighted the Afghanistan situation and the looming humanitarian and economic crisis besides security challenges there.
Following ceasing inflow of capital, foreign aid, investment and above all freezing of bank accounts, he said the Afghans economy was in tatters with its people eying up towards urgent assistance by the international community to avert the looming economic and humanitarian crisis.
Dr Khurshid said Afghanistan was on the historic crossroads today and it was up to the international community including the US and regional countries whether they see Afghanistan a progressing, stable and prosperous state with strong economy or a state of chaos, infighting and epicenter of terrorism. He said Afghans economy was heavily dependent on foreign aid and assistance from donor countries that received severe jolts following the US chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan economy is mostly fragile. Over 60 percent of the Afghans’ economy fed through foreign aid that was recently stopped and about USD 9.5 billion bank accounts of Afghanistan stand frozen adding to social economic woes of million of poor Afghans,” said Dr Khurshid Ahmed.
“This huge amount was meant for Afghanistan and its people have the right on it,” he said, adding the Afghan hovernment was facing financial constraints to meet cash demands of the people due to freezing of its accounts.
He said if these accounts were not reopened immediately there was a possibility of a serious humanitarian crisis of starvation, hunger and malnutrition of children and lactating mothers in Afghanistan and the whole responsibility would be on the international community.
He supported PM Khan’s view point that a destabilised and financially poor Afghanistan could again emerge as a safe haven for international terrorists and urged the world for measures to strengthen its government for the people of Afghanistan.
Dr Khurshid said Afghanistan was passing through a critical time and financial support was urgently required for Afghan people to live in peace with adequate food, shelter, education and healthcare services. Brigadier (Retd) Mehmood Shah, former secretary law and order (Merged Areas) and senior defence analyst said PM Khan has boldly highlighted human rights abuses and violations of international human rights laws including 4th Geneva Convention in the Illegally Indian Occupied Kashmir (IIOJK). He said the Prime Minister has rightly said that India’s unlawful actions in IIOJK amounted to “war crimes” and the “crimes against humanity” and regretted the world’s “selective” approach to protect its corporate interests.
He said India had undertaken a series of illegal and unilateral measures in IIOJK since August 5, 2019 and unleashed a reign of terror by the Indian occupational force of 900,000, jailed senior Kashmiri leadership and imposed a clampdown on media and the internet. The abduction of 13,000 young Kashmiris, extra-judicial killing of hundreds of innocent Kashmiris in fake encounters, extra judicial killings and collective punishments by destroying entire neighbourhoods and villages had exposed the ugle face of the fascist RSS-BJP regime.
Brigadier Mehmood said the most recent example of Indian barbarity was the forcible snatching of the mortal remains of the great Kashmiri leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani from his family, denying him a proper Islamic funeral and burial.
Indian actions violate the resolutions of the UN Security Council on Jammu and Kashmir. The resolutions clearly states that the “final disposition” of the disputed territory should be decided by its people, through a free and impartial plebiscite held under the UN auspices.
Regarding Islamophobia, he said the prime minister has underlined the need for collective efforts to fight the emerging threats in the form of Islamophobia and urged a global dialogue to counter its rise while promoting interfaith harmony. He said the worst and most pervasive form of Islamophobia now rules India and the hate-filled ‘Hindutva’ ideology, propagated by the fascist RSS-BJP regime, has unleashed a reign of fear and violence against India’s 200 million-strong Muslim community.
The mob lynching by cow vigilantes; frequent pogroms, such as the one in New Delhi last year; discriminatory citizenship laws to purge India of Muslims; and a campaign to destroy mosques across India and obliterate its Muslim heritage and history, are all part of this criminal enterprise.
Terming the prime minister’s speech historic and wide ranging, Mohibullah Khan, Provincial Agriculture Minister said the premier has accurately raised the issue of corruption and illicit financial flows from developing countries.
