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He said Kashmir remains a symbol of failure of the UN system and Pakistan's principled position on territorial disputes remains a bedrock of its foreign policy.
"Kashmir remains a symbol of failures, rather than strengths of the UN system," Zardari said in his 20-minute speech at the 67th session of the UN General Assembly here.
We feel that resolution of these issues can only be arrived in an environment of cooperation," he said.
"We will continue to support the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to peacefully choose their destiny in accordance with the UN Security Council's long-standing resolutions on this matter," the Pakistani President said.
Later, as Zardari exited the General Assembly hall, he was asked by PTI to comment on his remarks that Kashmir is a "symbol of failure" of the UN system.
Zardari, however, did not clarify or elaborate further.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar also did not elaborate on the president's remarks on Kashmir.
"It is in the speech, please read that. He said what he said. It is elaborated enough," she said.
Pakistan has raked up the issue of Kashmir at the UN forum time and again but India has insisted that it is its internal matter.
US President Barack Obama has also ruled out any "outside" solution to the Kashmir issue, saying in an interview in July that disputes between India and Pakistan can only be resolved among themselves.
Highlighting his country's foreign policy towards its neighbours in the sub-continent in his address, Zardari said Pakistan approaches its relations with India on mutual trust.
"Our principled position on territorial disputes remains a bedrock of our foreign policy," he added.
Noting that contacts between the leadership of India and Pakistan are "expanding", Zardari said he was "encouraged" by his discussions with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last month in Tehran.
The meeting with Singh in Iran on the sidelines of the NAM Summit was the fifth one in four years for him, Zardari informed the General Assembly.
He said by normalising trade relations, Pakistan wants to create a regional South Asian narrative, which would provide an environment that would mutually benefit the countries of the region.
Zardari acknowledged that the road ahead will have pitfalls, including the tendency to respond to failure through blame.
"Pakistan does not blame others for the challenges it faces. We believe we should look for win-win solutions," he said.
He stressed that "regional cooperation and connectivity will bring us closer and bind us together. It will make us stakeholders in each other's futures."
Pakistan has learnt a lesson from the past 30 years that while history cannot be changed, the future can be "brighter, more prosperous and more secure, not only for Pakistanis, but for all people of the region, and indeed the world."
The fact is we have a dummy for a prime minister. He doesn't have spine and doesn't have the ability to strike back - we keep talking to these bloody Pakis for opening up our markets etc. Why ? What would we gain by having pakistan as a trading partner. a) Pakistan has no money to pay for goods and services unless one is selling to the affluent pakistanis b) There is something really bad that comes with any interaction with pakistan. The question is: Is it worth it ? We just need to pay lip service to interacting with Pakis but not do anything about it. Also, if Pakis try something dirty like sneek terrorists into J&K then we need to bolster our security to an extent, so that we can kick their behinds and send them to the hell hole they came from. All this touchy feely stuff like "Aman ki Aasha", doesn't compute with me.
mr asif szardari has shown his true colours. He cannot be trusted as at one hand problems willbe solved talking while on the other hand he has raised the dead matter of kashmir again. He should be told in very clear terms that Kashmir is, was and will remain an integral part of India. People not happy there should be allowed to settle in Kashmir. India should stop giving other facilities, easy visa, investment by indians there and their people investing in India. It won't work. thanks.
Pakistan which harbors terrorists like Al Quaeda and even protected Bin Laden while saying they are fighting terrorists, no longer has any moral value to ask anything. In fact Pakistan is a country that is disintegrating due to terrorist's presence, extreme fanaticism and being a beggar on the streets of China. This statement is only an attention grabber and a corrupt Zardari has no place in UN. It is just a matter of time, Pakistan will come to pieces and many war lords will start occupying the country in different places. It is not a surprise, Al Zawahari if he survives may take over Pakistan.
India's passive and reactive Pakistan policy is ineffective in tackling the problem Pakistan poses. There is no Aman ki Asha but only Aman ki Doorasha. In the meantime reports show that Pakistan has not given up but is still active on the Khalistan matter. India has to be more aggressive on the issue of Balochistan and the rights of the Baloch people. Before Pakistan can raise the issue of Kashmir, India must be geared to raise the issue of Balochistan accepting the fact that Pakistan is not prepared to improve ties on the basis of stronger trade relations. In this backdrop there cannot be any question of any cross border investment between the two countries. Allowing Pakistani businessmen to invest in India would only mean opening another channel for routing ISI funds to India! Trust these thoughts trouble our policy makers too while they plan for the future. It is no use pretending Pakistani government has nothing to do with what is going on in Kashmir.
India is naive. Mr. Zaradari's statement at UN "We will continue to support the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to peacefully choose their destiny in accordance with the UN Security Council's long-standing resolutions on this matter." His further comment"the future can be "brighter, more prosperous and more secure, not only for Pakistanis, but for all people of the region, and indeed the world." These comments must give lead to India for proposing either (a) Pakistan may remerge with India or (b) along with Kashmir, Pakistan must accomodate additional 250 millions. The mistake India made at that time of division was that the division was never complete in all respects.The future of this subcontinent will be brighter only if one of the above alternatives are agreed upon. The division was encouraged by the colonial rulers and has been bad for both the regions.
thanks to Zardari for giving waking up call to the naive Indians who believed that Pakisthan is really interested in friendship and will not rake up Kashmir issue after agreeing to settle all issues bilaterally as per Simala agreement. however it is hard to imagine that 'lost brother brigade' will ever allow rest of Indians to do what they wish , i.e to cut relations with an intolerant society of Pakisthan.
