Pakistan praises Muscat Action Plan for promoting peace and dialogue

Pakistan on Friday described the Muscat Action Plan as an innovative way 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 statements were made by Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, at the UN Headquarters in New York.

The ambassador said the plan galvanizes the cultural legitimacy and credibility of traditional and indigenous leaders to counter hate speech and promote 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 turn societies into “oases of peace, equality and tranquility”.

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

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

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

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“The events of recent days have amply underlined the fragility of the situation, the risk of escalation and the need for diplomatic efforts to bear fruit sooner rather than later,” he told the council.

The ambassador said the recent rise in violence in the Middle East was “a stark reminder of the dangers associated with a tenuous ceasefire and the unbearable consequences it can have.”

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