Terror, Covid origins: Indian PM Modi takes swipe at Pakistan, China in UN speech

Daily Dhaka Post; Updated: Sep 25, 2021, 20:02

Narendra Modi took a sharp dig at both Pakistan and China in his address at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Saturday. Modi said that countries with regressive thinking use terrorism as a political tool but don’t understand that it is as big a threat for them as well.
Speaking about the situation in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, he said it must be ensured the volatile country is not used to spread terrorism or launch terror attacks.

We need to ensure that no country tries to take advantage of the delicate situation in Afghanistan and use it for its own selfish interests.
“At this time, people of Afghanistan, women and children and minorities need help. We must fulfill our duties by providing them with assistance,” the Prime Minister said.
Pakistan’s neighbours, including Afghanistan, India and US have long accused Islamabad of providing safe haven and support to militants, a charge denied by it.
In an indirect swipe at China, the Prime Minister said that oceans of the world must be protected from the race for “expansion”.

“Oceans are a shared heritage … and the lifeline of international trade. We must protect them from the race for expansion. The international community must speak in one voice to strengthen a rule-based world order,” he said.
The Prime Minister’s remarks come amid rising concerns about China’s expansionist behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region.
PM Modi further stressed on the need to strengthen global organisations like the United Nations, whose credibility has come under question lately.
“The UN has been facing many tough questions today, be it over climate crisis or the Covid pandemic. Moreover, the proxy war taking place in several parts of the world and the Afghanistan crisis have deepened these challenges,” he said.
Raking up the hotly-contested issue of Covid-19 origins, the Prime Minister said that such matters have damaged the credibility of institutions linked to global governance.
“With regard to the origin of Covid-19 and the ease of doing business rankings, institutions of global governance have damaged the credibility they had built after decades of hard work,” he said.

The global community has been unable to determine the origins of Covid-19, and is split on whether it leaked from a lab or developed in nature.
While China maintains the virus originated at a wet market in Wuhan, there are strong theories it could have been a man-made pathogen which leaked from a laboratory.
A delayed and heavily politicised visit by a WHO team of international experts went to Wuhan in January 2021 to produce a first phase report, which was written in conjunction with their Chinese counterparts. It failed to conclude how the virus began.
Moreover, the World Bank recently said it is discontinuing its flagship Doing Business publication, citing “data irregularities” in recent editions of the global business climate index.
The decision was taken after a probe of data irregularities allegedly due to pressure by some top bank officials to boost China’s ranking in 2017 came to light.
“It is essential that we constantly strengthen the UN, in order to safeguard global order, global laws and global values,” Modi said.
(With inputs from agencies)