Global parliamentary summit: Pakistan underscores need for settlement of Kashmir dispute

At the ongoing global parliamentary summit at United Nations Headquarters in New York, Pakistan on Tuesday underscored the need for a settlement of the decades-old, UN-recognised Kashmir dispute to pave the way for peace and development in South Asia. "The Kashmiri people have waited for too long for their just and inalienable right to self-determination," Acting Speaker National Assembly, Murtaza Javed Abbasi, told the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament.
"It is time to enable them to exercise these rights through an independent and impartial plebiscite under the United Nations, paving the way for a sustainable peace and development," he said this while speaking in the general debate on "Placing democracy at the service of peace and sustainable development: Building the world the people want."
A total of 138 speakers of national parliaments and 39 deputy speakers from some 140 countries are attending the conference, which is scheduled to end on Wednesday. The global parliamentary summit is held every five years.
Abbasi, the chief Pakistani delegate said that South Asia is among the most environmentally vulnerable regions vulnerable to terrorism, and, therefore, it was equally important to address the political climate in the region where outstanding disputes continue to fester, preventing it from realising its tremendous economic and social potential. "Foremost among these disputes is the issue of Jammu and Kashmir," Abbasi told delegates from around the world. "This is an internationally recognised disputed territory, underwritten by several United Nations resolutions", he added.
"Peace in South Asia is an imperative - not only for the people of that region but also for the citizens of a globalise world," Acting Speaker said. Dealing with social, economic and environmental challenges, he said despite progress the world has made in the last 15 years, poverty, inequality and unemployment remain high, global health indicators were worrying and the negative effects of climate change have the potential to threaten survival of many societies.
He noted that the adoption of a new development agenda marked a success for the international community and continuing relevance of co-operative multilateralism as it reflects a paradigm shift in many ways ranging from "how we empower our people; protect our planet and promote prosperity for all across the globe." The post-2015 development agenda outlined a transformative vision, Abbasi said. The scale and scope of the new agenda required effective means of implementation particularly mobilisation of financial and technical resources, transfer of technology and capacity building, as also full implementation of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda for the realisation of Sustainable Development Goals and targets.
"The role of democratic institutions, mechanisms and processes is both vital and essential in advancing the new sustainable goals and targets in enacting laws, approving budgets and holding governments to account in implementing their commitments," Abbasi said.
"Other stakeholders such as media, judiciary, civil society and think tanks can play a supportive role for Parliaments in exercising their oversight and accountability functions," he said. Good governance, comprehensive policies and strengthened institutions will also be critical. "This calls for the protection and promotion of nascent democracies around the globe," Acting Speaker said, adding that without people's voice in the decision-making processes, sustained growth and development was not possible.
He said the absence of synergy between democratic governance, rule of law and development mechanisms had remained the main hurdle in achieving the Millenium Development Goals (MGDs) and that challenge must be addressed in promoting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
"The Parliament of Pakistan prides itself as the first Parliament in the world to shift its development agenda from MDGs to SDGs," Abbasi said, adding that a Parliamentary Task Force would monitor and oversee the development targets of their respective governments. The Parliamentary Force enabled all provinces to create similar parliamentary groups in all the respective provincial assemblies, he added.