Pakistan reaffirms commitment to UN peacekeeping programme

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar on Tuesday reaffirmed Pakistan’s strong commitment and support to the United Nations peacekeeping and peace-building programme.

“Pakistan firmly believes in peace, stability, development, and human rights which are interlinked with each other,” she said while addressing an event in connection with the the UN Peacekeepers Day here.

Hina said Pakistan valued the sacrifices rendered by the United Nations’ peacekeepers from across the world, especially from Pakistan.

Paying tributes to the peacekeepers, especially those who sacrificed their lives, she said around 170 Pakistani peacekeepers and eight alone in 2022 had sacrificed their lives for global peace and to uphold the Blue Flag.

The minister maintained that Pakistan’s security forces were playing a vital role in the peacekeeping missions under the United Nations to maintain peace in the world’s conflict areas.

She also appreciated the Pakistani women who were playing their key role in every field of life They had also served the UN peacekeeping programme as psychologists, operational officers, and nurses, she added.

Ms Khar said Pakistan had firm faith in the United Nations’ capability of maintaining peace and it also believed that the role being played by the UN in building peace, ensuring security and development across the world could not be done by any other institution.

She said over 4,300 Pakistani peacekeepers, including female officers, were currently serving with distinction under the UN flag.

Spokesperson for Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the event was jointly organized by the ministry and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Resident Representative UNDP Pakistan Knut Ostby informed the audience that currently over 87,000 peacekeepers from across the world were deployed under the UN peacekeeping missions to ensure global peace and development.

Additional Secretary United Nations Pakistan Syed Haider Shah said not only military personnel were serving in the UN missions but the civilian experts, psychologists, doctors, nurses and others were also deployed to ensure long term and sustainable peace and development.

Military Observer at the UN peacekeeping missions, Lt. Col. Jehangir Server and military logistic officer Major Saman Naeem, on the occasion shared their personal experiences during their stay at the missions and said the Pakistani personnel were actively engaged in building peace, improving living standards of the local and providing humanitarian assistance to the locals.