Thank you, Mr. Chair, I would like to congratulate you as well as the other members of the sixth committee bureau on their election, says a press release received here today from New York. 2. Pakistan aligns itself with the statements delivered on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and by the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) by Iran. Mr. Chair, 3. Pakistan strongly condemns terrorism including state terrorism in all its forms and manifestations regardless of the motivation, the identity of perpetrator and location. 4. Over the last two decades, Pakistan has played a key role in the global fight against terrorism. Pakistan is also a principal victim of terrorism. More than eighty thousand Pakistani civilians and soldiers have been killed or injured in terrorist attacks and the country has suffered over $150 billion in economic losses over the last two decades. 5. Terrorism must be defeated comprehensively, everywhere. I wish to emphasize a few points in this context. 6. One, while international efforts to eliminate terrorism have been successful in suppressing the “core” of the major terrorist organizations, their associates and affiliates have survived and terrorism has spread across the world especially in Africa, manifesting itself in various new and mutated forms. An effective strategy has not yet been developed to address the terrorist challenges in Africa. 7. Second, we must address not only the symptoms but also the underlying causes of terrorism. These include prolonged unresolved conflicts, foreign occupation and denial of the right to self-determination such as in Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine. 8. Three, the global counter terrorism policies have failed to address “state terrorism”. The worst example of state terrorism is the brutal oppression of the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir to deny their recognized right to self-determination. 9. This state terrorism has intensified since 5 August 2019 when India took unilateral and illegal measures to impose what it ominously calls a “Final Solution” of Jammu and Kashmir. 10. Four, the state sponsorship of terrorism is another manifestation of “state terrorism”. Today, Pakistan is a victim of cross-border attacks by terrorists, including Security Council listed terrorist groups, that are financed and organized by hostile agencies to disrupt the development of Western and Southern Pakistan. 11. Five, the international counter-terrorism efforts must address terrorism promoted by right wing extremist groups and extremist ideologies as agreed in the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy last year. The supremacist Hindutva-inspired and Islamophobic RSS is one of the world’s oldest and largest fascist movements; is responsible for killing thousands of Muslims in pogroms and targeted killings across India. The RSS should once again be designated as a terrorist organization as it was once including by the Security Council. Mr. Chair, 12. Six, although every UN resolution states that “terrorism should not be linked with any religion”, unfortunately, since 9/11, despite protestations to the contrary, some have associated terrorism with Islam with the use of phrases like “jihadis”, “Islamists”, “radical Islam”. This assertion has led to the increase in institutionalized discrimination and violence against Muslims and the rise of Islamophobia right wing, extremist and fascist movements in several countries. These extremists are responsible for the vast majority of terrorist and violent acts in Western countries. 13. Finally, Pakistan fully supports the OIC’s position on the consensus-based Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT). We need a consensual international definition of terrorism including by differentiating between terrorism and the legitimate struggle for self-determination and by clarifying and taking into account the new forms of terrorism such as terrorism by racially, ethnically, or ideologically motivated individuals and groups. 14. The OIC member states look forward to the Secretary General’s report on ways to address these emerging threats of terrorism. 15. Pakistan also fully supports the work of UNOCT and the UNCCT. 16. At the same time, the UN’s counter terrorism architecture needs to be reformed and made more transparent and equitable, including by making appropriate changes in the Security Council’s sanctions regimes and by further strengthening the office and role of the Ombudsperson. I thank you Mr. Chair.
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