New York, September 28
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh delivered a strong message to Pakistan in his speech at the 68th session of the UN General Assembly today stating that the “terrorist machinery that draws its sustenance from Pakistan must be shut down.”

The Indian Prime Minister also used the forum to push for a major reform and restructuring of the UN Security Council to “reflect current political realities”. He indirectly pushed India’s case for a seat on the high table by stating, “More developing countries should be included as both permanent and non-permanent members.”

The highlight of his speech though was the tough words he used while dealing with the issue of terror and Pakistan’s role in fermenting it. A day before his much-anticipated meeting with Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif, Manmohan Singh stated that while he “reciprocated” sentiments for “ a new beginning”, he made it clear that “for progress to be made, it is imperative that the territory of Pakistan and the areas under its control are not utilised for aiding and abetting terrorism directed against India.”

With Sharif in his speech at the UN on Thursday taking the maximalist position of “self-determination” for the status of Kashmir, Manmohan Singh adopted a tit-for-tat approach stating firmly that, “There must be a clear understanding of the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and there can never, ever, be a compromise with the unity and territorial integrity of India.”

Addressing the UN General Assembly for the last time in his second term as Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh devoted a good part of his concise 15-minute address on the issue of combating terrorism mincing no words against Pakistan. He said, “State-sponsored cross-border terrorism is of particular concern to India, also on account of the fact that the epicentre of terrorism in our region is located in our neighbourhood in Pakistan.”

The Prime Minister in his speech also dealt with issues such as the post-2015 development agenda that was a follow-up to the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the UN to halve extreme poverty by 2015. With most countries failing to meet the ambitious targets, Manmohan Singh wanted the UN “to set clear and concise goals”, including adequate flow of resources and transfer of technology to developing countries.

Manmohan Singh also referred to the civil war engulfing Syria in his address reiterating India’s stand that while any use of chemical weapons must be strongly condemned, “there was no military solution to this conflict.”

He added: “We must intensify efforts to end the conflict and seek a political settlement” wanting the Geneva-2 conference to stop the war to be convened at the earliest.