We produced doctors, engineers, Pakistan created terrorists: Sushma at UNGA

New York: Addressing the UN General Assembly here on Saturday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj ripped apart Pakistan's stand on terror and said, while “India is fighting poverty, neighbour Pakistan is fighting us”.

In a fiery yet articulated speech, she asked Pakistan to introspect whether talks on terror are anywhere close to the action it takes.

She said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had offered the hand of peace and friendship but Pakistan spurned the offer.

Sushma also slammed the Pakistani premier's claim that his nation's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah had bequeathed a foreign policy based on peace and friendship, saying “he recalled old resolutions that have been long overtaken by events. But his memory conveniently failed him where it matters.”

“I would like to remind him (Pak PM) that while it remains open to question whether Jinnah Sahab actually advocated such principles, what is beyond doubt is that PM Modi has, from the moment he took his oath of office, offered the hand of peace and friendship,” she said.

She said while India has founded high-learning institutes like IITs, IIMs and AIIMS, Pakistan has only created terrorist groups like the LeT and JeM.

Pointing at the differences among the world leaders in the definition of terrorism, she asked: "If we cannot agree to define our enemy, how can we fight together”.

Cautioning the gathering over the relentless rise of violence across the world, she called for a united fight against terrorism.

She urged the august assembly to “stop seeing this evil (terrorism) with self-defeating and indeed meaningless nuance” after all “Evil is evil”.

She also highlighted India's fight against other pressing issues like poverty, economy and climate change, and said the country has displayed the courage to take tough decisions which led to a process of sustainable development.

“Eliminating poverty and empowering the poor are must for sustainable development,” she declared.

She said that demonetisation was a courageous decision of her government since it challenged black money, one of the by-products of corruption.

Referring to the steps taken by her government to financially strengthen the poor, she said, “We have linked 30 crore people to banks. Our mission is to empower people through economic means.”

She also underlined the flagship programmes launched in the country to empower the poor like Digital India, Start-Up India and Stand-Up India.

She also expressed India's concern about climate change and said, “India is deeply committed to the Paris Accord.” She said back home PM Modi has launched the International Solar Alliance towards this cause.

“When we talk of world peace, we mean peace not only among human beings but also peace with nature,” she told the gathering in her second consecutive address at the UNGA.

She also spoke on reforms at the UN Security Council. Early reform of the UNSC is an essential element of our overall effort to reform the United Nations, she said.

Sushma, who arrived in New York last Sunday, spent a major part of her day on Friday giving final touches to her speech.