DOCUMENT No. 10
 

Speech made by Mian Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri, at Munich Conference on Security Policy
 

Pakistan and the Middle East

Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to speak to this select gathering at the Munich Conference on Security Policy at its 40th anniversary Session. Developments since 9/11, in particular Afghanistan and Iraq, have underlined that issues of security have now to be addressed increasingly in a global context and that no single part or region of the world can ensure its own security in isolation. This message has come across clearly in the deliberations of the Conference this year.

I would like to begin by expressing my deep appreciation for the thought-provoking address delivered this morning by His Majesty King Abdullah II on the Middle East Situation. His wise and inspiring words provide an excellent basis for our deliberations on Future Developments in the Middle East

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Middle East region has played a pivotal role in world history because of its location at the crossroads of Europe, Africa and Asia, as a cradle of civilization and as the birthplace of the world's three great monotheistic religions: Islam, Christianity and Judaism. In the twentieth Century, three other factors made the Middle East a hotbed of conflict and Strategic competition: (a) the unresolved issue of Palestine; (b) oil; and (c) the relationship of the faith of Islam with the rest of the world. Developments in the Middle East today have a direct or indirect bearing on the entire globe. If the Middle East remains volatile, the rest of the world will remain prone to instability and insecurity and if the Middle East is stable and secure, the whole world will benefit.

Pakistan occupies a key Strategic location in relation to the Middle East because of our Situation at the meeting point of South Asia, the Gulf region and Central Asia. Among Asian countries, we have the closest ties to the Middle East and are directly affected by developments in this region. This arises not only from our geographical location at the periphery of the Middle East but also because of our very close cultural and economic links with the region. The relationship between the peoples of the Middle East and Pakistan is as old as the history of the two regions. The advent of Islam in South Asia, which forms the basis of Pakistan's nationhood, added a special dimension to this relationship.

Close relations with the Middle East have been a central plank of Pakistan's foreign policy. Even before Pakistan's independence, the leadership of Pakistan's freedom movement expressed its solidarity with the people of Palestine and called for the protection of their rights. After the birth of Pakistan in 1947, we actively supported the independence struggles of several Arab states, which were then still under colonial rule. In turn, we received very valuable support from the Middle Eastern states in limes of crisis, a prime example of which was the close collaboration between Pakistan and several Middle Eastern countries in opposing the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s. In recent years, a strong human bond has been forged between Pakistan and the Middle East, as around l .5 million Pakistanis are employed in various sectors of the Gulf economies as professional, semi-skilled and non-skilled workers.

Although the question of Palestine has been haunting the world for the last one Century, its significance has increased manifold after the tragic events of 9/11 and the Middle East today holds the key to regional and global peace and harmony, as never before. One of the reasons cited by those who carried out the terrorist attacks of 9/11 was the non-resolution of the Palestine question. The war in Afghanistan closely followed these attacks and then came the war in Iraq.

Let me take these issues one by one:

Palestine
So long as justice is not done for the Palestinian people, it will be difficult to stem the tide of extremism in the Arab and the Islamic world. A volatile Arab street makes the Muslim street volatile. The sense of hurt and injustice in Gaza and the Western Bank reverberates through the Islamic world.

Many in the Arab and Islamic world have accepted the reality of Israel. However, Israel has yet to prove to its neighbors that it genuinely accepts the reality that the establishment of the state of Palestine in accordance with UN resolutions is the only way forward. Because of their vast influence, United States and Europe have a responsibility to use their full political weight to realize the vision of two states, Palestine and Israel, living side by side in peace within secure and recognized boundaries.

A genuine Israeli commitment to live up to its obligations under the Road Map and to end the occupation of Palestinian territories is essential to bringing an end to all forms of violence. A strong international commitment, especially by the United Nations, United States and not least Europe, is needed to secure the implementation of the Road Map. There is growing international perception that some of the major international players have not yet exercised to the full the influence that they are capable of.

History teaches that such intractable issues can only be resolved through negotiations and dialogue. Unilateral actions designed to overwhelm the aspirations of an occupied people through power and force have never succeeded. They will not succeed in Palestine either. The Separation Wall currently being constructed in the occupied territories will defeat the objectives of the Road Map, apart from exacerbating the humanitarian plight of the Palestinian people.

For its part, Pakistan will continue to make a positive contribution to peace, stability and prosperity in the Middle East. A genuine movement towards resolution of the Palestinian problem will generate greater understanding in the Islamic world for normalization of relations with Israel

Iraq
Iraq remains an open wound. It should not be allowed to fester. The uncertain Situation in Iraq poses several challenges for stability in the Arab and Islamic world. Therefore, we must move swiftly to address the humanitarian crisis in Iraq and the concerns of the Iraqi people.

International efforts must be guided by the objectives of restoring Iraq's sovereignty and political independence, and ensuring its unity and territorial integrity as well as upholding the rights of the Iraqis to determine their own future and control their own natural resources.

Adherence to the Principles of the United Nations' Charter is the only assurance for a better, safer and prosperous world. The UN has an important role to play in Iraq. Its involvement will impart the requisite legitimacy to the political as well as stabilization processes. The United Nations is well placed to promote a genuine consensus among all Iraqi groups. However, in view of horrendous attacks on the UN personnel in August 2003, we fully understand the United Nations' legitimate security concerns and hope that the CPA would be able to address these and thus enable the United Nations to play an independent and impartial role in fostering broader consensus within Iraq and in the region.

The political transition in Iraq is currently facing difficulties both on process and substance. The conflicting interests of Iraq's ethnic and sectarian groups have the potential to exacerbate insecurity and expand the theatre of violence beyond Iraq. It is, therefore, important that Iraq's political and stabilization process should be based on broader consultations involving the entire Iraqi political spectrum as well as the Arab and Islamic countries. In this context, Pakistan would be prepared to make its due contribution in restoring stability and sovereignty to Iraq.

Terrorism

The phenomenon of terrorism in and around Afghanistan was an unintended consequence of the international campaign to secure Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. After the Soviet withdrawal, Afghanistan was quickly ignored. And Pakistan was left to deal with the debris of the conflict: guns, drugs and religious extremism.

Pakistan is today engaged in a comprehensive war against terrorism. Our actions are consistent with our moral principles, national interest and our vision of Pakistan as a modern, tolerant and democratic Islamic State. Because of our actions, over 500 AI Qaeda operatives and associates, including some key figures, were arrested during the last two years. We have deployed 70, 000 troops along the Pakistan-Afghan border to locate and interdict terrorist suspects. We have developed an effective intelligence network based on human intelligence, technological capabilities and aerial surveillance, backed by an effective Quick Reaction Force. We are also adopting measures to choke the sources of terrorist financing.

Al-Qaeda is on the run. There is no prospect of the Taliban coming back to power in Afghanistan. That said, it is also true that the war on terrorism is not over. 1t has yet to be fought and won. We cannot lower our guard.

Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, the international community has an Obligation to ensure the successful implementation of the Bonn Process. We Support President Karazai's efforts to promote peace, reconciliation and reconstruction in Afghanistan. We welcome the recent adoption of constitution by the Afghan Loya Jirga. To maintain progress in the Bonn Process, it is imperative to secure:

One, neutralization of the power of warlords and extension of the central governments authority throughout the country;

Two, credible reforms of the Afghan security structures;

Three, expansion of ISAF to cover all parts of Afghanistan; and

Four, the pacification of the Pashtoons areas and their reintegration into the mainstream of the Afghan polity.

Clash of Civilizations?

The short-term strategy of striking against terrorism is well poised for success. But there is as yet a deficit in addressing the root causes of terrorism.

Religious extremism and militancy have risen because of the deep sense of injustice and impotence in the Arab and Islamic world. There is a widespread feeling in the Muslim world that Islam is being unfairly targeted. Unfortunately theories projecting a "clash of civilization" have reinforced this feeling.

We firmly believe that a wide range of measures involving both the Muslim governments and the Western world are needed to eliminate the breeding ground for terrorism and extremism. These measures should accompany individual actions against AI Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.

The President of Pakistan has proposed a strategy of "Enlightened Moderation" to address this emerging challenge. The first component of this strategy is the promotion of reform in Islamic societies through social and economic development.

The second component of the strategy of Enlightened Moderation entails the support of the international community to enable the Muslim world to benefit from opening trade, Investment and access to modern technology. It also requires the urgent redress of the historical injustices against Muslim peoples and states.

The ability of Pakistan as other Islamic states to deal with the challenge of extremism would be greatly enhanced by the just resolution of the Palestine problem; achieving a settlement of the Kashmir dispute; restoring peace and stability in Iraq, and restoring peace and security in Afghanistan.

I am happy to say that in South Asia, we will shortly commence a composite dialogue process between Pakistan and India to resolve all outstanding issues, especially the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. After years of stalled negotiations and the acrimony that characterized relations between Pakistan and India, the leaders of the two countries have embarked upon the path of peaceful settlement of disputes. Demonstrating courage and statesmanship. President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on January 6, 2004, decided to start a new phase of engagement and to address the issues between our two countries through realism and flexibility by both sides.

Pakistan hopes that the dialogue will be sustained and fruitful. Our aim is to resolve peacefully all our disputes, especially over Jammu and Kashmir, and to build a stable structure of peace and security in South Asia, which is acceptable to Pakistan and India and responsive to the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

The 12th SAARC Summit held in Islamabad last month provided a historic opportunity to countries in South Asia to cement regional cooperation for the well being and prosperity of millions of their inhabitants. Of the several important agreements signed during the Summit, the signing of South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) alone will significantly contribute towards accelerating intra regional trade and economic activities among the member states.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The interlocking regions of the Middle East, South Asia and Central Asia will greatly benefit from a stable Strategic and security environment. This will open new opportunities for economic and social development and enable Pakistan to play its geo-political role as a bridge of economic cooperation and mutual prosperity between the three regions, which contain about one-third of the world population, with South Asia alone accounting for approximately one quarter.

The whole region comprises moderate states that want to eradicate extremism and radicalism. They would like to focus on addressing their social and economic problems. They want economic development, progress in education, science and technology and human resource development. They reject attempts to equate terrorism with Islam. They want to be part of the global mainstream.

This is a task, which the countries belonging to the Islamic world must in the first place carry out themselves. Where the international community can help is by doing more to remove the underlying causes that breed extremism and conflict and by becoming actively engaged in the resolution of political disputes on the basis of justice and international law.

This is a challenge for the Islamic world but it is also a challenge for the rest of the world. I thank you Ladies and Gentlemen. 

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