ISLAMABAD  -  Caretaker Prime Minis­ter Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar will partici­pate in the high-level de­bate of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York from September 18 to 23, the Foreign Office announced yesterday. Speaking at a weekly news briefing here, Foreign Of­fice spokesperson Mumtaz Zah­ra Baloch said the Prime Min­ister was scheduled to address the UNGA on September 22. In his UNGA address, she said, the PM will discuss various region­al and global issues, including the long-standing Jammu and Kashmir dispute, which remains unresolved on the UN agen­da. She said the PM will elabo­rate on the significant measures taken by the caretaker govern­ment to strengthen Pakistan’s economic recovery and attract both domestic and foreign in­vestments. Apart from address­ing the UNGA, the Prime Minis­ter will participate in a summit on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other high-lev­el meetings organized by the UN General Assembly.

These platforms will allow discussions on global solu­tions to economic and devel­opment challenges exacerbated by the COVID pandemic, geo­political tensions, and climate change, she added. During the UNGA session, the Prime Minis­ter will hold bilateral meetings with counterparts from various countries, international organi­zations’ leaders, philanthrop­ic organizations, and corpo­rate leaders. He will also engage with international media.

The spokesperson empha­sized Pakistan’s view of the United Nations as a vital forum for nation-states and highlight­ed the country’s commitment to multilateralism and the UN’s role in promoting global peace and prosperity.

Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani will accompany the Prime Minister during these engagements. Baloch men­tioned the foreign minister’s participation in the 10th Com­monwealth Youth Ministers Meeting in London, where Pa­kistan is chairing the forum for the first time in three decades.

Regarding the situation in In­dian Illegally Occupied Jam­mu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the spokesperson expressed con­cerns about human rights vi­olations against women in the region and called for an end to these violations to ensure the dignity and peace of the wom­en living there. She reiterat­ed Pakistan’s stance on the dis­puted territory of Jammu and Kashmir, emphasizing its sta­tus pending resolution in accor­dance with UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. She also clarified Pakistan’s position on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the Afghan transit trade. The spokesperson expressed Pakistan’s concerns about security threats emanat­ing from Afghanistan and the temporary closure of the bor­der, stating that decisions re­garding border openings would be made based on future devel­opments. On the Afghan tran­sit trade, she said Pakistan has been implementing in good faith the agreement between Af­ghanistan and Pakistan with re­gards to transit trade.

“We have facilitated our land­locked neighbour in their ac­cess to the rest of the world in terms of trade and we will continue to do so. We have also said that there have been some concerns of Pakistan re­garding misuse of the transit trade agreement on which we will engage with the Afghan au­thorities to end these practic­es,” she explained. To a ques­tion, she said Pakistan was concerned about the security threat emanating from Afghan­istan. “There have been recent incidents including in Chitral on the 6 September, as well as the incident on the border on the same day. We believe that such incidents embolden the terrorists and that is why it is important for the Afghan inter­im authorities to ensure that Afghan territory is not used to threaten Pakistan. With re­gards to the opening of bor­ders, I must underline that the closure of the border is tempo­rary. And we will make the de­cision regarding its opening in view of the developments that take place in the coming days,” she elaborated.