Responding to PM Narendra Modi’s speech last month challenging Pakistan to a contest over eradicating poverty and other social ills, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said, “If they (Indian leaders) want us to fight them to end poverty, then they should realise that poverty cannot be eradicated by driving tanks on farmlands.” The whole world, he said, is aware of the fact that “despite the presence of 700,000 troops,” India could not “suppress” the voice of Kashmiris.
Addressing the joint session of Parliament here over Indo-Pak tensions, Mr Sharif said that Pakistan wants peace and aims to resolve all outstanding issues with India through composite dialogue, but again needled India by calling Hizbul commander Burhan Wani a “son of the Kashmiri soil”.
While reiterating that the resolution of the Kashmir issue was imperative for durable peace in the region, he called upon the world community to play a positive role in the implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions without any delay.
Pakistan, he said, has offered holding composite dialogue with India time and again but “our efforts were always sabotaged.” In his address, Mr Sharif denied Pakistan’s involvement in the Uri terror attack and charged that India was “engaging in levelling baseless allegations against Pakistan” to divert the world’s attention from the Kashmir issue.
On September 28, Mr Sharif said, “Indian forces resorted to unprovoked firing across the Line of Control by violating the ceasefire agreement.” Though two soldiers were killed, Pakistan’s defense forces “gave a befitting response to Indian aggression,” he said.
Mr Sharif said Pakistan wanted peace in the region and had no aggressive designs, but added that its desire for peace should not be construed as weakness.
“Our armed forces are capable of thwarting any foreign aggression effectively. The whole nation stands with the armed forces for the defence of country,” Mr Sharif said.
He also said that Pakistan is the biggest victim of terrorism in the world and that it had sacrificed a lot in the fight against terrorism and was committed to its complete elimination.
