Promoting parliamentary diplomacy: essential for world peace and sustainable development, NA spokesperson
Islamabad; Honorable Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said that upholding the values of democracy, peace and rule of law is essential for global growth and development. He added, “Pakistan is a peaceful country that believes in dialogue for cooperation and understanding.” He also said that the promotion of bilateral and joint partnerships through parliamentary friendship groups among parliaments of the world would strengthen contacts between parliaments. He expressed these views during his speech at the 148th Assembly of the IPU in Geneva on the theme “Parliamentary Diplomacy: Building Bridges for Peace and Understanding.
While appreciating the IPU’s efforts for peace and understanding worldwide, he said the world was witnessing death and destruction in Gaza on an unimaginable scale as over 30,000 civilians, most of them women and children, had been killed. Pakistan will continue to raise serious concerns about the situation in Gaza where heartbreaking images of death and destruction are emerging from Gaza. He also said that Israel’s actions violated all international humanitarian and human rights laws, which deliberately attack civilian targets, and as such constituted war crimes and crimes against humanity.
During his speech, he also reiterated his strong and unequivocal condemnation of Israel’s indiscriminate use of force and called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza. He also reiterated: “We have always and will continue to stand by our Palestinian brothers and sisters. the exercise of their inalienable right to self-determination for a viable, secure, contiguous and sovereign State of Palestine based on pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.”
Referring to the grim situation of human rights violations in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, he said that Kashmiris have been suffering indignity and oppression for seven decades. He also emphasized the need to ensure the right to self-determination in Kashmir as per the UN Security Council resolution. He also added, “The issue of Jammu and Kashmir is not only about territory, peace and security; it is first and foremost about the people and their unfulfilled desires to determine their political future.”
The speaker also drew the attention of the participants to the worst challenge of global climate change facing developing countries. He said: “Pakistan’s contribution to the global carbon footprint is well below 1 percent, although Pakistan remains a frontline nation bearing the brunt of climate change, as in 2022 Pakistan suffered one of the worst floods in its history, leaving a third of the country inundated.” He also called for: “It is high time that international action to address the impacts of climate change is spurred, especially in the most vulnerable countries.” While he reiterated his pledge as MPs, he said they needed to deepen their understanding of the new era of technological progress and what it means for their work and the people they represent.
