UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Friday called upon the Syrian parties to move to negotiation in order to put an early end to the crisis, which has reportedly killed 100,000 people since its outbreak in March 2011.
Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, prime minister of Pakistan, made the call while addressing the General Debate of the UN General Assembly, which entered its fourth day here Friday.
"Syria is in turmoil, with Syrians killing Syrians," the prime minister said. "We appeal to the Syrian government and opposition groups to move to the negotiating table in Geneva to prepare a road map for national reconciliation and the necessary political transitions."
"More war will lead to more killings that need to be stopped," he said.
"As party to the Chemical Weapons Convention, Pakistan remains opposed to the use of chemical weapons," he said, adding his country condemns strongly the use of these weapons.
The UN fact-finding group, after analyzing samples collected on the site of alleged chemical weapons attacks, confirmed that chemical weapons were used on Aug. 21 on the outskirts of the Syrian capital, Damascus.
"We welcome the agreement reached between the United States and Russia, and supported by other permanent members of the Security Council, to secure and destroy chemical weapons in Syria," he said.
"This crucial step has facilitated consensus within the council to adopt a resolution, which will not only address the issue of chemical weapons but start the stalled political process in Syria that would lead to national reconciliation and solutions that are acceptable to the people of Syria."
"Pakistan will support that resolution," he said.
Currently, Pakistan is one of the 10 non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, which, under the UN Charter, has the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security.
The 15-member Security Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution on the Syrian chemical weapons late on Friday.
The United Nations is leading the international efforts to bring into reality the Geneva II conference on Syria at an early date.
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