At UNGA today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lead from the front
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India's message to Pakistan, time and again has been clear, 'talks and terror cannot go together'. The same is expected to resound in PM Modi's UNGA address today.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended his first UNGA session in 2014, he stressed the need for bilateral talks with Pakistan. The only disclaimer, Pakistan must create an environment for talks by addressing anti-India terrorism.
"I am prepared to engage in a serious bilateral dialogue with Pakistan in a peaceful atmosphere, without the shadow of terrorism, to promote our friendship and cooperation. However, Pakistan must also take its responsibility seriously to create an appropriate environment," PM Modi had said at UNGA in 2014.
In 2015, PM Modi addressed the UN sustainable development forum while the late former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj spoke at the UNGA.
Watch: D-day at United Nations General Assembly
Again, India's message to Pakistan was articulate and could not be missed - 'talks and terror cannot go together'.
A year later in 2016, PM Modi skipped the UNGA meeting, but India kept the heat on Pakistan. During the session, former Pak PM Nawaz Sharif eulogised Kashmir-based terrorist Burhan Wani as a martyr and the "symbol of the latest Kashmiri Intifada" and in response, India highlighted the oppression of minorities in Pakistan.
The last two UNGA sessions saw India taking the pole position on several global issues.
But this year is not any other year. Pulwama terror attacks, Balakot airstrikes, the re-election of PM Modi and then the decision to abrogate Article 370 Kashmir.
Watch: Countdown to PM Modi's speech at UNGA begins, slotted to speak at 8.30 pm IST
Pakistan is shaken, Imran Khan is running from pillar to post to find that elusive support while India is on the front-foot from the word go.
Prime Minister Modi is leading India from the front this time.
He started the UNGA week by addressing the United Nations Climate Change Summit where he highlighted the government's climate action policies and called for a global movement to bring about change.
PM Modi in the third US-India bilateral meeting with Trump set a trade target of 60 billion dollars.
So far, PM Modi has conducted bilateral meetings with more than ten global leaders including US President Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Modi also reached out to small Island countries at the India Pacific Island meet and the 1st India Caribbean Summit to strengthen ties and improve cooperation.
Considering all this, PM Modi is expected to thwart Imran Khan's misinformation campaign. The Indian PM has already taken the attack to Pakistan.
The prime minister kicked-off his US visit by sharing the stage with US President Donald Trump at the 'Howdy, Modi' event during which he said, "whether it is the perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attack or the 26/11 in India, where were the plotters of these attacks found?"
PM Modi also exposed Pakistan's unhealthy obsession with terrorism in the global arena.
"Some people, who are not able to govern their own country, have a problem with what India is doing," PM Modi had said, adding, "now the time has come for a decisive battle against terrorism and those who encourage terrorism."