UN honors eight Pakistani peacekeepers
Pakistan is currently the 5th largest contributor to UN peacekeeping.
NEW YORK: Eight Pakistani peacekeepers, among 103 United Nations peacekeepers from around the world, were honored at a special ceremony on May 25, marking the 75th anniversary of the UN Peacekeeping.
Pakistan’s Acting Permanent Representative Ambassador Muhammad Aamir Khan received the medals from the UN Secretary General, accompanied by Col Raja Afzal Ahmed, Military and Police Adviser.
The UN Secretary General presided over a Dag Hammarskjold Medal and Military Gender Advocate of the Year award ceremony in the General Assembly Hall.
The Pakistani peacekeepers included six martyred while serving with the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) when their helicopter crashed on 29 March 2022.
They wrre: Havildar Muhammad Ismail, Major Faizan Ali, Lt. Col Asif Ali Awan, Naib Subedar Sami Ullah Khan, Major Muhammad Saad Nomani, and Lance Havildar Muhammad Jamil Khan. Havildar Babar Siddique lost his life while also serving in MONUSCO and Corporal Rana Muhammad Tahir Islam while serving with the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).
Pakistan is currently the 5th largest contributor to UN peacekeeping with nearly 4,200 military and police personnel serving in Abyei, the Central African Republic, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, South Sudan and Western Sahara.
Pakistan boasts a rich peacekeeping history. During seven Decades of Peacekeeping Experience more than 225,000 Pakistani uniformed personnel; women and men serve in 46 UN Missions across the globe in 28 Countries. In 2000s, participated in 12 out of 18 missions with the highest ever strength of 10,500 The journey began in 1960 Congo.
171 brave Pakistani Peacekeepers including 27 officers have laid their lives under UN Flag Only in Somalia, Pakistan Lost 23 brave hearts on a single day As latest, 29 March 2022 in DRC, Pakistan Military helicopter under UN flag was shot down. Pakistan Lost 6 of it’s sons for the UN in the line of duty
The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, 29 May, offers a chance to pay tribute to the uniformed and civilian personnel’s invaluable contribution to the work of the Organization and to honour more than 4,200 peacekeepers who have lost their lives serving under the UN flag since 1948, including 103 last year.
This year, May 29, marks the 75th anniversary of UN Peacekeeping.
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