Pakistan’s Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign AffairsAndleeb Abbas raked up the issue of Kashmir and made references to the recentUN Human Rights report on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir

India has strongly rejected Pakistan’s references to Kashmirduring the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) Ministerial Meeting in Venezuela, sayingthe global forum can never be a platform for a “self-serving narrative” thataims to undermine the territorial integrity of one nation by another state.TheNAM needs to be in the vanguard of those addressing the primary issues of ourtimes that cry for global cooperation, rather than become a platform forventing bilateral grievances between members, India’s Permanent Representativeto the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin said on Sunday in his address to the NAMMinisterial Meeting in Caracas, Venezuela.

Akbaruddin emphasised that individual members need to ponderbefore “turning upon” fellow members by raising issues, in global fora, whichare not on the agenda, are not part of the discussions of the outcome documentin any manner, find no resonance in the wider membership and those thatcontravene NAM traditions.“Regrettably, one delegation attempted thisyesterday. That no other member is responsive to such a self-serving narrativeis a telling rejoinder that NAM never was and never can be a platform forpursuits aimed at undermining the territorial integrity of a State by anotherState,” the Indian envoy said.

Akbaruddin did not name Pakistan but his comments were aimedat Islamabad raising the issue of Kashmir at the multi-lateral forum.Pakistan’sParliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs Andleeb Abbas, in her statement atministerial meeting, raked up the issue of Kashmir and made references to therecent UN Human Rights report on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

India has slammed the UN report as a continuation of theearlier “false and motivated” narrative and violative of India’s sovereigntyand territorial integrity.In his statement, Akbaruddin said that whileterrorists continue to “operate with great impunity and greater inhumanity,”the international community’s actions to combat the scourge have fallen short.

“Terrorism not only kills our citizens, but also seeks todisrupt societies by undermining our ability to attain our development goals.Unfortunately, all our talk about combating the scourge of terrorism has notbeen matched by actions,” he said.As terrorists have collapsed borders,Akbaruddin said the collective response at countering terrorism must transcendfrom ad hoc and crisis-orientated reaction towards building standing structuresintended to be durable and insulated from rhetoric.

“We, as NAM countries, need to take the lead as it is ourcitizens that stand to lose the most from the lack of coordinated and coherentresponses, he said.Underscoring the serious challenges of an interdependentworld, he said threats that respect no borders confront everyone and transcendcapacities of every nation to surmount them.

“Climate Change has become a pressing emergency;environmental challenges are an urgent reality; pandemics threaten the accruedgains of global health; terrorism has expanded alarmingly; humanitariannightmares are playing out repetitively,” he said.“We live in times when more,and not less, collaborative and cooperative efforts are needed for managing theopportunities and challenges that we face. Common answers to each of theseglobal issues requires effective multilateralism. No amount of coercion orunilateral measures can resolve our primary concerns,” he said.While the NAMhas had a glorious past, Akbaruddin how the forum will be perceived in thefuture will be defined by how it addressed the defining challenges of currenttimes: “climate change, digital technologies and terrorism, as well as how wereform existing multilateral institutions to our needs.“Sadly, today ourinertia is considerable. Even when it is clear that collective action isrequired, we steer clear from action, pleading consensus is required forchange,” he said.

Akbaruddin called for re-examining the methodology of discussionand decision-making, saying the international community’s agenda needs to beprogressive and forward looking.“The world is awash with new challenges.However, to effectively make a difference, we, the NAM, need to undertake a newjourney. A journey which needs to begin soon.”

Alluding to the words of Swami Vivekananda, Akbaruddinwarned that failure to “catch the wind” will leave everyone behind once again.

“If we succeed, we will all stand to benefit. Together, wecan revitalise our shared institutions and strengthen and reformmultilateralism, so as to maximize the prospects for a peaceful and prosperous21st century for all our people.”