United Nations                                                                                                                                                                                     24 Sept. 2017                                                                                                                                                                                    (Media)

Pakistan’s Permanent representative to the United Nations Dr Maliha Lodhi said that India is the mother of terrorism in Asia.

She was addressing at the 72nd session of the General Assembly in the United Nations (UN) on Saturday.

Dr Maliha Lodhi asked the world community to stop India from violating the ceasefire in the region.

She categorically rejected India's sweeping allegations about Pakistan's involvement in terrorist acts, and cited instances of the Indian sponsorship of terrorism and aggression against all its neighbours making the country the "mother of terrorism" in South Asia.

"India has considerable experience in the state sponsorship of terrorism in our region," Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistani permanent representative to the UN, told the UN General Assembly on Saturday evening, while responding to the Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj speech in which she called Pakistan "the pre-eminent export factory for terror”.

In a hard-hitting statement made in exercise of her right of reply, the Pakistani envoy denounced Ms. Swaraj's statement earlier in the day as an "orgy of slander" against her country.

"Her comments towards my country betray the hostility that the Indian leadership has towards Pakistan - hostility we have endured for 70 years.”

Jammu and Kashmir was not a part of India, but a disputed territory, and the Indian occupation was illegal, she told the 193-member Assembly.

She called for the implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions and for a Special UN Envoy to be appointed to ensure India's adherence to its legal obligations, adding that Pakistan was committed to openness and dialogue with India so long as it ended its campaign of subversion.

Elaborating, Ambassador Lodhi said India had "sponsored and perpetrated terrorism and aggression against all its neighbours; creating terrorist groups; destabilizing and blockading neighbours to do its strategic bidding and sponsoring subversion, sabotage and terrorism in various parts of Pakistan”.

"India's proclivity to violence is also no secret. In the 70 years since its independence it has been engaged in at least over a dozen instances of the use of force and continues to face 17 insurgencies in its own land. It has fought a war with or in each of its neighbours."

The UN Security Council had, in over a dozen resolutions, decided that the dispute must be resolved by enabling the people of Jammu and Kashmir to determine their own destiny through an UN-supervised plebiscite, the Pakistani envoy said.

India had accepted these UN resolutions, but avoided implementing them through "obfuscation, diversion, deceit and aggression”.

India's brutal occupation of Kashmir had killed over 100,000 innocent Kashmiris, she said.

"Today, that campaign of brutality continues, including the shooting and blinding of innocent Kashmiri children with pellet guns. Yet, every day, these Kashmiri children, women and youth come out on the streets to demand that India get out of occupied Kashmir."

Any inter-state dispute, like Kashmir, was by definition an "international" dispute, Ambassador Lodhi said.

"If the parties fail to resolve a dispute, the UN and the international community has not only the right but the obligation to intervene and help to resolve the dispute."

"In the case of Jammu and Kashmir, that obligation is explicit; since the UN Security council has been involved with the dispute since its very inception; and because the Council has prescribed very specifically and precisely how the dispute should be resolved."

Rejecting the Indian minister's claim that UN Security Council resolutions had been "overtaken," she said, "Law has no expiry date. Morality has no sell-by date."

It cannot escape its legal and moral obligation to abide by the resolutions of the Security Council," the Pakistani envoy said.

India, she said, now also refuses a bilateral dialogue with Pakistan, either composite or comprehensive, saying there must be an end of violence.

"Violence emanates, first and foremost, from India's occupation and brutal suppression of the Kashmiri people," she pointed out.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, she said, had proposed that the UN Secretary-General should appoint a Special Envoy- as several of his predecessors did- to promote the implementation of the relevant provisions of the Security Council resolutions as the dialogue process had been derailed.

Ambassador Lodhi also urged the UN to take steps to investigate India's ongoing and massive violations of human rights in Kashmir, end the impunity enjoyed by India's security forces, lift the draconian emergency laws and punish those responsible for the war crimes and genocide in Kashmir.

"If the international community wishes to avoid a dangerous escalation between India and Pakistan, it must call on India to halt its provocations and aggressive actions," she said.

"It must end the ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC). It must halt its sponsorship of terrorist groups against Pakistan."

Ambassador Lodhi said the UN should define terrorism, but said it should include "state terrorism".

"The state terrorism which the Indian National Security Adviser (Ajit Doval) has boasted is being sponsored by India's spy agencies in Pakistan's Balochistan province in what he called a 'double squeeze' strategy.

"Pakistan, she said, had in its custody an intelligence officer, Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, who confessed to India’s support to terrorist activities in Pakistan.

Deploring the Indian minister's attempt to denigrate Pakistan's founding father, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the Pakistani envoy said, "All I can say about India's current political luminaries is that they belong to a political organization that has the blood of thousands of Muslims of Gujarat on its hands."

Today, she said, this so-called "largest democracy" is the world's largest "hypocrisy".

"It is ruled by a government in which a racist and fascist ideology is firmly embedded. The leadership of this Government emanates from the RSS, the same extremist group, which is accused of assassinating Mahatma Gandhi," ambassador Lodhi said.

"It is a government which has appointed a fanatic as the Chief minister of India's largest state whose rallying cry to his mobs was: 'If they kill one Hindu, we will kill 100 Muslim'. It is a government, which has allowed the lynching of Muslims.”

Pakistan claims India has been attempting to sabotage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Eight Indian 'undercover operatives' posted as diplomats in Islamabad were found in November 2016 allegedly involved in subversive activities including attempts to disrupt CPEC and create fear and chaos in the country.

Indian operatives in Pakistani were alleged building network within Pakistan and fabricating evidences for tarnishing country's image abroad.

New York                                                                                                                                                                                           22 Sept. 2017                                                                                                                                                                              (TRNC Public Information Office)

Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu, Foreign Minister of TRNC continues his meetings in New York this week, where he attended the annual Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Council of Ministers meeting, organised within the framework of the United Nations General Assembly.

As a part of this, Minister Ertuğruloğlu met with ECO Secretary General Halil İbrahim Akça yesterday to discuss relations between the TRNC and ECO and potential avenues for further collaboration. Ertuğruloğlu announced that he will host ECO member states in the TRNC in the coming months at two important events :

1.   Second Workshop on “Best applications in capacity development and biological variety” and

2.  “Fourth eco-tourism experts meeting”, in October and December respectively.

ECO Secretary General Halil İbrahim Akça welcomed the full involvement and role of the TRNC in hosting ECO meetings, and expressed his confidence in the success of these future ECO events in the TRNC.

Doha                                                                                                                                                                                              , r – 21 Sept. 2017

Belgian Business Club Qatar held 'Chocolate Night' welcoming reception in honour of newly arrived ambassador to State of Qatar Bart De Groof.

Ambassador Bart De Groof has been serving as Consul General in India before taking his responsibility in Qatar as Belgian Ambassador.

Large display of exquisite range of chocolate from Belgium were nicely arranged, complimentary for guests to eat and to take home.

Organised in collaboration with Galer Chocolatier Qatar, Belgian Business Club Qatar, Embassy of Belgium and Flanders Trade Investment at the residence of ambassador of Belgium.

Jihad Maalouli, Galler Chocolatier Qatar’s Operation Manager welcoming Belgium ambassador that it was honor for him to join the  exceptional event which brings together an elite group of businessmen, dignitaries and guests  ‘for the love of chocolate’. We were delighted to be among such a wonderful group of passionate chocolate lovers, and witness their journey as they stepped into Galler’s world of hidden treasures.”

Among sponsors of the night included Marriott Marquis City Center Hotel, the Ritz-Carlton Doha, and Hotel Inter-Continental Doha.

Jihad Maalouli said that Jean Galler, Founder of Galler Chocolatier is trained with the greatest chocolate masters in France, brought his own indulgent touch and a vibrant, colorful style to the world of Belgian chocolate. With sweetness and indulgence deeply ingrained in his DNA, Galler went on to introduce to the world, a palate-gratifying range of chocolate bars and flavors that quickly gained iconic status among chocolate aficionados.

Washington                                                                                                                                                                                          22 Sept. 2017                                                                                                                                                                                    (Xinhua)

Leaders of the United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK) had reiterated the goal of peacefully solving the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) nuclear issue, the White House said on Friday.

"President (Donald) Trump and President Moon (Jae-in) reaffirmed the two countries' joint goal of pursuing the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea in a peaceful manner," the White House said in a readout of Trump and Moon's Thursday meeting in New York.

The statement came days after Trump threatened in a speech at the United NationsGeneral Assembly that the United States "will have no choice than to totally destroy" the country unless Pyongyang refrains from its nuclear tests and missile launches.

On Friday, the top leader of the DPRK, Kim Jong Un, vowed to retaliate, saying Trump will "pay dearly" for "his speech calling for totally destroying the DPRK."

Trump and Moon also agreed that "maximum pressure and sanctions" are necessary to deter the DPRK's "threatening actions," the White House statement said.

Trump on Thursday signed an executive order aimed at further cutting off sources of revenue that fund the DPRK's nuclear program.

Also on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China is firmly committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula during his speech at the General Debate of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly.

Wang urged the DPRK not to go its own way in a dangerous direction. Meanwhile, he urged the United States to honor its "Four Nos" commitment to the DPRK, and called for all parties concerned to play constructive roles in relieving tensions in the region.

China said the six-party talks are still an efficient platform to address the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

China's proposal of "suspension for suspension" aims to find a breakthrough while the "dual track approach" plans to resolve all parties' reasonable security concerns via dialogue and consultation in a balanced way thus finding a long-term resolution to the issue.

"Suspension for suspension" refers that the DPRK suspends its missile and nuclear activities in exchange for a halt to large-scale military exercises between the United States and ROK.

"Dual track approach" refers that denuclearizing the peninsula on the one hand and establishing a peace mechanism on the other.

Tension on the Korean Peninsula has been escalating following a series of missile launches and the Sept. 3 nuclear test conducted by Pyongyang.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Sept. 11 to impose new sanctions on the DPRK over its latest nuclear test.

Pyongyang                                                                                                                                                                                        22 Sept 2017

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has hit back at threats made by Donald Trump during his first speech at the UN, saying the US President is "deranged" and his country will "pay dearly".

The full text of the statement reads:

The speech made by the U.S. president in his maiden address on the UN arena in the prevailing serious circumstances, in which the situation on the Korean peninsula has been rendered tense as never before and is inching closer to a touch-and-go state, is arousing worldwide concern.

Shaping the general idea of what he would say, I expected he would make stereo-typed, prepared remarks a little different from what he used to utter in his office on the spur of the moment as he had to speak on the world's biggest official diplomatic stage.

But, far from making remarks of any persuasive power that can be viewed to be helpful to defusing tension, he made unprecedented rude nonsense one has never heard from any of his predecessors.

A frightened dog barks louder.

I'd like to advise Trump to exercise prudence in selecting words and to be considerate of whom he speaks to when making a speech in front of the world.

The mentally deranged behavior of the U.S. president openly expressing on the UN arena the unethical will to "totally destroy" a sovereign state, beyond the boundary of threats of regime change or overturn of social system, makes even those with normal thinking faculty think about discretion and composure.

His remarks remind me of such words as "political layman" and "political heretic" which were in vogue in reference to Trump during his presidential election campaign.

After taking office Trump has rendered the world restless through threats and blackmail against all countries in the world. He is unfit to hold the prerogative of supreme command of a country, and he is surely a rogue and a gangster fond of playing with fire, rather than a politician.

His remarks which described the U.S. option through straightforward expression of his will have convinced me, rather than frightening or stopping me, that the path I chose is correct and that it is the one I have to follow to the last.

Now that Trump has denied the existence of and insulted me and my country in front of the eyes of the world and made the most ferocious declaration of a war in history that he would destroy the DPRK, we will consider with seriousness exercising of a corresponding, highest level of hard-line countermeasure in history.

Action is the best option in treating the dotard who, hard of hearing, is uttering only what he wants to say.

As a man representing the DPRK and on behalf of the dignity and honor of my state and people and on my own, I will make the man holding the prerogative of the supreme command in the U.S. pay dearly for his speech calling for totally destroying the DPRK.

This is not a rhetorical expression loved by Trump.

I am now thinking hard about what response he could have expected when he allowed such eccentric words to trip off his tongue.

Whatever Trump might have expected, he will face results beyond his expectation.

I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged U. S. dotard with fire.

New York                                                                                                                                                                                            21 Sept 2017                                                                                                                                                                                    (Public TRNC Information Office)

Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu,  Foreign Minister of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in his interview to Radio  ‘Voice of America’ has said that the United Nations must turn over a new leaf on the Cyprus matter, stating that it is not right to insist on continuing 50 years of failed negotiations.

TRNC Foreign Minister is in New York on the occasion of 72nd Session of United Nations General Assembly lobbying for his countrymen under embargoes and siege.

On a question on recently failed negotiation process and about new talks, Ertuğruloğlu clearly said that the Cyprus talks cannot continue under their former conditions, adding that it was clear from the beginning that it would not be possible to reach a settlement based on equality given that both sides were not on equal footing at the negotiating table.

Furthermore, stressing that the Greek Cypriot side speaks of the Republic of Cyprus unilaterally though it has no right to do so, Ertuğruloğlu said that the international community ignores this behaviour while the Turkish Cypriot people continue to live under embargoes and are excluded from the world stage. Stating that any new negotiating process must be based on equality.

He said “Turkish Cypriot people have never accepted being a minority under Greek Cypriot rule. We favour a solution based on full equality and we insisted on this, however, the negotiating process collapsed in Crans Montana. It is not possible to continue in the same vein. The Greek Cypriot side wants to continue the process from where it was left. They do not want Turkish Cypriots to be open up to the world – instead they want us to live in isolation.”

He continued, “If they had any intention of making an agreement, this would have been possible in Crans-Montana because the Turkish Cypriot people have four or five other options.

There may be negotiations in Cyprus but there cannot be any negotiation between a state and a community. The process cannot start again. They have stolen 50 years from the Turkish Cypriot people. We shall not let them steal another 50 years. The new process can only be carried out between one state and another.”

Nicossia                                                                                                                                                                                          TRNC Public Information Office                                                                                                                                                    20 Sept 2017

President Mustafa Akıncı said that the TRNC did not expect any new initiatives to happen on the Cyprus issue in the next few months.

In his statement at Ercan Airport before leaving for New York, Akıncı said that he visited New York every year to make contacts during the United Nations General Assembly and outlined that there were two issues that made this year's visit particularly important.

The first issue is that the meeting comes after the failed negotiations in Crans-Montana in July, and the second is that the TRNC will be able to discuss the UN Secretary-General's report on the talks before submitting it to the United Nations Security Council.

Akıncı also mentioned that while he does not expect the UN report to the Security Council to blame the other side, the TRNC does expect objectivity.

Stating that the abandonment of the Turkish Cypriot people to isolation is a great injustice which the United Nations community should not ignore, Akıncı said that what had happened in Crans Montana was similar to the April 2004 referendum on the United Nations Annan Plan.

Akıncı said, "I believe that the United Nations should do its part to determine what the status of the Turkish Cypriots will be."

New York                                                                                                                                                                                              22 Sept 2017                                                                                                                                                                              (QNA)

Dr. Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri, Chairman of  National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) has renewed calls for the urgent dispatch of an international technical mission to visit Qatar and the siege countries to examine grave human rights violations caused by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain against nationals and residents of Qatar, and citizens of the three countries themselves.

He also urged direct meetings with the victims to listen to their complaints, and document their psychological, material and moral damage they suffered.

This came during a meeting Dr. Al-Marri held with Dr. Craig Mokhiber, Head of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in New York, and Deputy Secretary-General for Human Rights of the United Nations, within the framework of his current visit to the United States to mobilise support with regard to human rights violations caused by the siege.

During the meeting, they discussed the position of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Gulf crisis and the international mechanisms of human rights in the face of violations resulting from the siege.

Chairman NHRC thanked the High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Ra'ad bin Zaid for the efforts exerted by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and for its positive and steadfast positions to confront the violations of the siege countries since the beginning of the crisis.

Dr. Ali Samekh Al-Marri gave Dr. Mokhiber a detailed explanation of the latest developments and the statistics regarding the violations documented since the beginning of the siege on the Qatari people and residents of Qatar.

He also briefed the UN official on the actions taken by the National Human Rights Committee at regional and international levels to address these violations, and the results of his discussions with international human rights organisations, the Office of the High Commissioner in Geneva and the United Nations Special Procedures Office.

Dr. Al-Marri also called for the urgent need to work to facilitate the visits of the Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion to identify the repercussions of the siege on the State of Qatar and the siege countries.

He noted that the NHRC had received 3,346 complaints as a result of the siege imposed on Qatar, including 620 requests by families affected by the siege.

Chairman NHRC had previously discussed with the High Commissioner for Human Rights violations by the siege countries, especially those related to health and education, family reunification and the practice of religious rights.

Doha                                                                                                                                                                                                       21 Sept 2017                                                                                                                                                                                      Qatar Media Corp/                                                                                                                                                                            Daily Gulf Times

The expatriate community feels grateful to His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani for expressing his pride in them in his speech at UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, journalist Ashraf Siddiqui said yesterday.

Speaking on Qatar Urdu Radio’s live radio show Haqeeqat, he recalled that His Highness the Emir expressed great pride in the resilience shown by Qataris during siege and also said he was proud of the multinational and multicultural residents of Qatar.

“From the very first day of the siege, the expatriate community has expressed its faith and trust in Qatar, and the appreciation shown by His Highness the Emir for us in his speech brought us great joy,” he added.

Haqeeqat aims to engage and interact with the large South Asian expatriate community in Qatar. A joint venture of Gulf Times and Qatar Media Corporation Urdu Radio, it is broadcast from Sunday to Thursday on FM107.

Log on to Qatar Urdu Radio on Facebook and ‘@QatarUrduRadio’ on Twitter for feedback and comments about the show.