Your Excellency General Mohammed Zia-ul-Haq, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Begum Zia-ul-Haq:
May I commence by expressing to Your Excellency, Begum Zia-ul-Haq and the Government and people of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan my very real gratitude for the generous welcome which has been extended to my wife and I and my colleagues. We regard our visit with particular significance, and especially so given that we come as members of the Islamic family of nations and, therefore, as traditional friends and brethren of the same faith.
Indeed, it was in such a spirit that Muslim leaders assembled just two weeks ago at Casablanca. I was particularly pleased that the occasion gave me an opportunity to work closely with Your Excellency for the ideal and purpose of a greater unity within the Muslim Ummah. I recall with sincere appreciation the contribution you personally made towards the success of the Fourth Islamic Summit.
Being a part of the Muslim Ummah, the Republic of Maldives requires no introduction in your beautiful land; indeed our presence here is yet further evidence of the bonds we enjoy, and a cardinal purpose in accepting Your Excellency’s gracious invitation was that it would enable me to convey, personally, the fraternal good wishes of the people of my country to the people of Pakistan.
The foundation of the association we enjoy is, of course, the unity provided by our joint allegiance to the moral and social ethics of Islam. I am inspired by the fact that I am a guest in the State which was conceived through the intellectual wisdom of that truly great Islamic poet and thinker, Sir Muhammad Iqbal. From Iqbal came a clarity of vision and a sense of high purpose such as when he described Pan-Islamism as a ‘humanitarian ideal’, surely the most noble, the most objective definition it is possible to deliver. For as he wrote some fifty years ago, “It is only by rising to a fresh vision of his origin and future, his whence and his whither, that man will eventually triumph over a society motivated by inhuman competition, and a civilisation which has lost its spiritual unity by its inner conflict of religious and political values.”
The man who realized Allama Iqbal’s vision and aspiration was none other than the founder of this nation Quaid-i-A’zam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Being the first Head of State from the Maldives to make an official visit to Pakistan, I take this opportunity to pay a special tribute to the memory of that great Muslim leader who, through his unshakeable determination and whole-hearted devotion to the cause of Islam, achieved after a long and historic struggle a national home for the millions of Muslims who live on the sub-continent. This is a nation established on the noble principles of Islam, and as such, a country that commands the respect and love of Muslims all over the world.
Your Excellency:
My visit takes place at a time of considerable international gravity, the effects from which none of us can be shielded. The international scene is fraught with danger, with humanity being challenged at every social, political and economic level of its existence. It is my belief, however, that nations such as ours have a special role to play and can generate a moderating influence in the councils of the world by applying our shared principles, and by so doing maintain a collective effort to reduce the ever increasing international tensions. As encouragement and inspiration in such an endeavour I cite the fact that the policies our two countries adopt on the many complex issues with which we are confronted are identical in purpose and intent. That such a unity of purpose is necessary is without doubt; indeed in a world pregnant with suspicion, envy, greed and mistrust, it is of paramount importance that we utilise and expand upon the bonds of mutual confidence and understanding which exist between nations.
Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen:
With regard to the particular matter of unity within the Islamic world, I wish to express once again the singular and abiding regret with which the Government of the Maldives views the continuing armed conflict between Iran and Iraq. The untold death and destruction this war has wrought between our Islamic brethren in those two lands can only sadden and appal. What is more lamentable is that despite the efforts of the Islamic Conference and other international bodies no apparent end to the tragedy is at hand.
Of equal concern is the continuing suffering visited upon our Palestinian brothers and sisters by the armed aggression of the Zionists, together with their continuing occupation of Palestine. The Government I have the honour to lead holds as a canon of its foreign policy, and its conviction, that a durable peace in the Middle East can only be obtained once a full restitution has been made to the long-suffering people of Palestine, a restitution which must include a return to the land God gave them, including Al-Quds al-Shareef, a return to them of their properties and the guaranteeing to them of their inalienable rights.
Your Excellency, Honourable Ministers, Distinguished Guests:
When considering such matters of human distress, injustice and tragedy, I take great encouragement from the fact that Pakistan and the Maldives concur in the opinion that no one country, however rich or powerful they may be, can justify armed intervention in another country; and that we share the principle that all disputes must be settled through the processes of negotiation and dialogue. We are deeply concerned about the continued presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan and we reiterate our call for their immediate and unconditional withdrawal in order to protect the Islamic identity, the territorial integrity and the non-aligned status of Afghanistan. It is this principle which is directly responsible for our unity of purpose in the affairs of our region, be it the question of Afghanistan, Kampuchea or indeed support for the United Nations Declaration on the establishment of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace.
Allow me also to use this occasion, Mr. President, to express my satisfaction at the manner in which Pakistan and the Maldives have worked towards the implementation of the recently adopted programme of integrated action to improve the quality of life of the people of South Asia region. In this context, I am happy to say that my Government will have the privilege of hosting the next meeting of the South Asian Foreign Ministers later this year.
Matters such as these rightly command our attention and yet, in a consideration of the precarious times in which we live, no single issue is as crucial for the human race as that of disarmament. Indeed, the degree of success achieved by those states possessing arsenals capable of inflicting global destruction directly relates, ultimately, to the very future on this planet of mankind.
The rapidly growing economic and trade imbalances between the industrialised north and the primary producing south is also a matter of grave concern for both our countries and for the rest of the Third World. It is essential that the North-South dialogue be urgently resumed to work resolutely towards greater international equity and equality of opportunity which can only come about by a reconstruction of the present world economic order. And to those who command the heights of international trade and finance we must say, in unison and harmony, that there can be no lasting justice in a system which condemns so many to poverty; that it is immoral in the extreme and therefore totally unacceptable to us for the fat in international society to continually tell the thin to tighten their belts.
In conclusion, may I express my conviction that the nature of close co-operation enjoyed by our two nations is indicative of what it is possible to achieve when the essential spirit of Islam is brought to bear. May the bonds of mutual concern and common assumptions which we share long prevail and that, united in our Islamic faith, we continue to go forward in trust, understanding and confidence, so that whatever the strains and stresses of modern times may be, we will reach new heights of progress, encouraged by our successes of the past and sustained by the vision of the society which is our mutual destination described by Allah when He says in the Holy Quran: “You are the best community that has been evolved for mankind; for you enjoin that which is right, and forbid that which is wrong, and believe in God”.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Please join me in a toast:
to the health and happiness of His Excellency General Mohammed Zia-ul-Haq, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and Begum Zia-ul-Haq,
to the continued progress and prosperity of the people of Pakistan; and
to everlasting friendship and co-operation between our two Governments and peoples.