Pakistan praises Muscat Plan of Action for promoting peace, dialogue

Pakistan on Friday described the Muscat Plan of Action as an innovative pathway to address the scourge of hate speech, prevent incitement to genocide and other atrocity crimes, and promote peace mediation, dialogue, and local peacebuilding, Radio Pakistan reported.

These remarks were made by Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, at UN Headquarters in New York.

The ambassador said the plan galvanises the cultural legitimacy and credibility of traditional and indigenous leaders in countering hate speech and promoting peace through mediation and local peacebuilding.

He said Pakistan would continue to work hand in hand with international partners to dismantle the “twisted and flawed ideology” of hate speech and to turn societies into “oases of peace, equality and tranquillity”.

Iftikhar also congratulated the Sultanate of Oman, the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, and the Peacemakers Network for compiling and finalising the Muscat Plan of Action.

On Wednesday, Pakistan urged all sides to exercise restraint and give diplomacy “a little more chance” amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, warning that recent events have highlighted the risk of further escalation.

Addressing a UN Security Council briefing on non-proliferation, the ambassador said Islamabad was “deeply concerned” at the ongoing situation in the region marked by heightened tensions.

Read: Pakistan urges Afghan Taliban to take ‘verifiable, non-reversible’ action against terrorists at UNSC

“Events of the last few days have amply underscored the fragility of the situation, the risk of escalation and the need for diplomatic efforts to come to fruition – sooner than later,” he told the council.

The ambassador said the recent increase in violence in the Middle East was “a stark reminder of the dangers associated with a tenuous ceasefire and the unbearable consequences it may lead to”.

“The cycle of violence and instability must end for the good of regional and international peace, security, and prosperity,” he added.