Five key takeaways from PM Shehbaz's UNGA speech

NEW YORK: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif used his address to the 81st United Nations General Assembly to highlight regional security, India’s illegal actions, terrorism, Gaza and climate change.

1. Hormuz, Bab al-Mandeb must remain open

Calling the Straits of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb “arteries of the global economy”, PM Shehbaz urged that they remain open and serve as links between nations rather than becoming “choke points of confrontation”.

“Those waters must carry the promise of prosperity, not the perils of war,” he said, while calling for diplomacy amid a surge in regional hostilities.

2. Any attempt to block Pakistan’s water an ‘act of war’

On the Indus Waters Treaty, the prime minister warned that any attempt to stop, impede or divert Pakistan’s share of river waters would be treated as an “act of war”.

He said India’s decision to hold the treaty in abeyance had “no legal basis whatsoever” and maintained that the agreement remained “valid, binding and fully operative”.

“Water must never be weaponised. Rivers should nourish nations, not divide them,” Shehbaz said.

3. Kashmir is Pakistan’s 'jugular vein'

PM Shehbaz said Pakistan exercised its right to self-defence during the May 2025 conflict with India and credited US President Donald Trump’s intervention with helping prevent a wider confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

He called for a “just and fair” resolution of the Kashmir dispute, saying Kashmiris had waited decades for the UN to fulfil its commitment to a free and impartial plebiscite.

“Kashmir has been, and always will be, Pakistan’s jugular vein,” he said.

4. Pakistan urges action against militant groups using Afghan soil

The prime minister said terrorism remained one of the gravest threats to international peace and security, saying Pakistan had lost nearly 100,000 lives and suffered more than $150 billion in economic losses in its fight against terrorism.

He said that terrorist groups such as TTP and BLA were using Afghan territory to carry out attacks against Pakistan and urged Afghan authorities to take “verifiable action” to prevent their soil from being used against Pakistan or other countries.

5. PM condemns Israel’s actions in Gaza, calls for Palestinian state

PM Shehbaz condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank, highlighting the deaths and suffering of Palestinian civilians, particularly women and children.

He reiterated Pakistan’s support for an independent, sovereign, viable and contiguous Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

The prime minister also condemned Israeli actions in Lebanon and Syria and called for an immediate end to the violence.