ADDRESSING the 73rd UN General Assembly session in New York after the Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s verbal attack on Pakistan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi countered those allegations and chose Urdu for conveying his message to the UN members present and the world at large.

A translation of his speech was available but the impact of receiving the verbal message with allied facial expressions and body language of the speaker was missed out in the process.

The gathering in the UN was not a cultural show to present Urdu as Pakistan’s majority language. Choosing Urdu for his speech was perhaps Mr Qureshi’s obligation to please the audience at home but he missed an opportunity to present Pakistan’s case effectively.

S.G.B.S. Bokhari

Peshawar

Published in Dawn, October 3rd , 2018