“There are no words to describe the shock we are going through or how the face of the country has changed,” said Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif at the annual congressional high-level debate. copper.
“In 40 days and 40 nights, a biblical flood fell on us, breaking centuries-old weather records, challenging everything we knew about the disaster and how to manage it.”
There is no clearer evidence of global warming
According to the UN, nearly eight million people have been displaced by the disaster, and authorities and partners continue to reach affected populations with much-needed relief. To date, more than 1,500 people have been killed, including 552 children.
The Prime Minister noted that there are currently about 33 million people at risk of health threats; more than 13,000 km of damaged roads; one million homes were destroyed and another million damaged; and four million acres of crops were washed away.
“Pakistan has never seen a clearer and more devastating example of the effects of global warming. “Life in Pakistan has changed forever.”
During his visit to the country earlier this month, the UN Secretary General António Guterres said he had never seen “climate carnage on this scale” and called for urgent financial assistance to help Pakistan, saying it was not just a matter of solidarity but also a matter of justice.
The Prime Minister noted: “Nature unleashed her rage on Pakistan without regard for our carbon footprint, where there is almost nothing. Our actions have not contributed to this.”
He added that the priority now is to ensure rapid economic growth and lift millions out of poverty, which requires a stable external environment.
Sustainable peace in South Asia
“However, lasting peace and stability in South Asia still depends on a just and lasting resolution to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. At the heart of this protracted dispute is the denial of the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination,” he said.
The prime minister added that in a “classical settler colonial project”, India is seeking to transform Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir into Hindu-majority territory through “the illegal demographic change”.
“Millions of fake ‘residence certificates’ have been issued to non-Kashmirs; Land and property in Kashmiri are being seized; the constituency was gerrymandered; and more than 2.5 million illegal non-Kashmiri voters registered fraudulently. All of this is a blatant violation Security Council international law and resolutions, especially the Fourth Geneva Convention. “
He called on the United Nations and the Secretary-General to play their rightful roles in urging India to implement the existing UN resolutions on this issue.
The position of the United Nations with respect to this region is governed by uncharted and current Security Council resolutions. The Secretary-General affirmed that the final settlement of Jammu and Kashmir must be achieved by peaceful means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and bilateral agreements.
