UNITED NATIONS, Dec 16 (APP): Pakistan has expressed its concern over the \u201cgenerous\u201d supply of conventional weapons to \u201cone state\u201d in South Asia \u2014
\nan obvious reference to India, saying it was fueling instability and jeopardizing the delicate balance in the tension-ridden region. \u201cThe policy of double standards towards South Asia, based on narrow strategic, political and commercial considerations, must be eschewed,\u201d Ambassador Muhammad Usman Iqbal Jadoon, the deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the UN Security Council here late Friday.<\/p>\n
He was speaking in a debate on \u2018addressing the threat posed by diversion, illicit trafficking and misuse of small arms and light weapons and their ammunition to peace and security\u2019, in which over 60 countries took part. During the day-long debate, the speakers highlighted the threats posed by those weapons to global and regional security, as well as the nexus between those firearms, terrorism and organized crime. They sounded the alarm about their uncontrolled spread and easy availability, which, they said, undermine human security and impact a range of areas including development and fulfillment of basic human rights. In his remarks, Ambassador Jadoon regretted that the goal of limiting and gradual reducing conventional weapons has not been realized.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead, we find ourselves amidst a persistent increase in global military expenditures.\u201d \u201cMany destabilizing developments are evident in South Asia where one State\u2019s military spending vastly outnumbers that of all others,\u201d the Pakistani envoy told the 15-member Council. \u201cThe generous supply of conventional weaponry to this state, together with its strategic capabilities, is fueling instability, jeopardizing the delicate regional balance, hindering resolution of longstanding disputes, reinforcing its sense of impunity and hegemonic designs and impeding the realization of durable peace and sustainable development in the region. \u201cThis conventional imbalance can also lead to outbreak of conflict between nuclear-armed states due to the inherent danger of escalation\u201d, the Pakistani envoy added. Pakistan, he said, was committed to the establishment of a strategic restraint regime in South Asia, which includes an element of conventional force balance. \u201cPakistan neither wants, nor is engaged in an arms race in the region,\u201d Ambassador Jadoon said.<\/p>\n
Pakistan, he added, was of firm view that peace and stability in South Asia can only be achieved through the resolution of disputes in accordance with Security Council resolutions and the maintenance of a balance of conventional and strategic military forces. The Pakistani envoy also called for a stronger commitment from the international community to support developing countries with eliminating the scourge of illicit weapons proliferation. Recalling a recent attack on Pakistan\u2019s security forces\u2019 post by terrorist group Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan, he expressed concern about the group\u2019s possession of modern and sophisticated arms, calling for an investigation into how these weapons were acquired. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we successfully neutralized all of those involved, the possession of sophisticated weaponry by these terrorists, none of which they have the capability to manufacture, indicates a bigger problem today. \u201cIt is the responsibility of all States, this Council and the United Nations to take measures to prevent illicit trade, transfer and diversion of these arms,\u201d Ambassador Jadoon added. Urging to expand the scope of arms control to cover conventional weapons, he pointed to the accumulation of conventional capabilities in cyber and outer space, which creates dangerous imbalances and can trigger conflicts. Opening the debate, UN\u2019s High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, noted that the Security Council began its biennial consideration of small arms in 2007 and has since recognized that their illicit transfer, destabilizing accumulation and misuse threaten international peace and security. \u201cSmall arms and light weapons are the weapons of choice in initiating, sustaining and exacerbating conflict, armed violence, terrorism and other forms of organized crime,\u201d she said, warning that their misuse facilitates human rights violations and gender-based violence. In 2021 alone, 260,000 people were killed by small arms, amounting to 45 per cent of all violent deaths \u2014 more than 700 people a day, or one every two minutes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 16 (APP): Pakistan has expressed its concern over the \u201cgenerous\u201d supply of conventional weapons to \u201cone state\u201d in South Asia \u2014 an obvious reference to India, saying it was fueling instability and jeopardizing the delicate balance in the tension-ridden region. \u201cThe policy […]<\/p>\n
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