NEW YORK CITY: Pakistan Ambassador to United Nations Munir Akram has expressed hope that the UN under a new administration in the US will revive its engagement to enable the world community to effectively respond to global challenges including the coronavirus, climate change, terrorism, and promoting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Everyone at the UN is very happy that America is back, and the new US administration has committed itself to participate actively in the UN, reviving multilateralism, and working with other member states to promote the goals and objectives of the UN Charter,” Akram said in a virtual seminar organised by US Army War College.
Pakistan, he said, looks forward to cooperating with the US at the UN on all key issues.
Based in Pennsylvania, the US Army War College educates and develops leaders for service at the strategic level while advancing knowledge in the global application of land power.
Akram told the army officers participating in the seminar that the US move, over the last four years, to disengage itself from the UN had contributed to the diminution in the importance of the world body.
In his presentation, the ambassador explained the key features and functions of the United Nations and its affiliated organs in the maintenance of international peace and security, as well as Pakistan’s active role at the forum, especially in the peace-keeping operations.
The United Nations, he said, has always been an important body for Pakistan since its dispute with India over occupied Jammu and Kashmir was referred to the Security Council in 1947.
The 15-member Council pronounced itself on the dispute, calling for a plebiscite, under the UN auspices, to enable the people of Kashmir to determine their own future, and to decide whether they wish to join Pakistan or India, it was pointed out.
United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has been stationed since 1948 to monitor the ceasefire agreement between the two neighbours.
Pakistan has contributed over 200,000 peacekeepers in over 46 UN peacekeeping missions and promoted actively the role of peacekeeping for the preservation of international peace and security.
At the present moment, Ambassador Akram said that Pakistan has a stake in a host of disputes pending before the United Nations.
He said that Kashmir became a focus of attention when India abrogated its autonomy in August 2019 and divided the occupied region into two union territories, prompting Pakistan to raise its voice against the illegal measures.
“The situation between India and Pakistan in Kashmir remains a threat to international peace and security,” he observed.
After frequent ceasefire violations by India along the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed region, the ambassador said that the blazing guns have been silent following a renewed peace pledge and hoped that they would remain silent.
On Afghanistan, he said, Pakistan had facilitated an agreement between Washington and the Taliban for an orderly and responsible withdrawal from Afghanistan, and for intra-Afghan negotiations to achieve a political settlement.
On terrorism, Akram said, Pakistan had collaborated with the United States to destroy Al-Qaeda and related terrorist organisations and suffered over 80,000 casualties in the so-called war on terrorism.
Pakistan succeeded against militant groups after military operations to clear its frontier territories of these organisations. “However,” he said, “we continue to face the problem of terrorism today, which is externally sponsored by our neighbour — India — from the ungoverned spaces in Afghanistan.”
He recalled that this issue has been raised at the Security Council as well.
On disarmament, Pakistan has been a reluctant nuclear weapons state. However, as India went ahead with its nuclear explosions, “we [too] were obliged to follow suit”.
Pakistan, he said, has adhered to the principles of nuclear non-proliferation and sought mutual restraint regime with India to control the arms race between the two countries. “We have, as yet, not found a reciprocal positive response from our neighbour.”
Ambassador Akram regretted that civilian nuclear cooperation has not been made available to Pakistan, while India was a beneficiary.
