NEW YORK: A senior United Nations official on Thursday praised Pakistani peacekeepers for their service under the UN flag in hot spots around the world, saying they had made valuable contributions in maintaining peace as also helping families and communities suffering from war.
Suszana Malcorra, Chef de Cabinet of UN Secretary-General, also honoured the sacrifices of those Pakistani peacekeepers, who paid the ultimate price over the years in serving the cause of peace over the years.
Malcorra was speaking at a largely-attended function held at the Pakistan Mission to the United Nations to commemorate Pakistani Peacekeepers Day. The day marks the 5 June 1993 incident in Somalia when 24 Pakistani peacekeepers laid down their lives while rescuing allied forces in Mogadishu. On that day, 19 US troops also lost their lives.
In his brief remarks, Malcorra said she had personally met Pakistani men and women, who serve in seven peacekeeping missions in Democratic Republic of Congo, Darfur, Haiti and Kosovo. With over 8,000 troops serving in these missions, Pakistan is among the highest contributors to UN peacekeeping operations.
She said United Nations and Pakistan a good patnership in the field of peacekeeping.
Earlier, Pakistan UN Ambassador Masood Khan, who hosted the event, said Pakistan provided peacekeepers to the UN with a sense of national pride.
"This is our most concrete contribution to the United Nations' perennial quest for international peace and security," the Pakistani envoy said.
"Commitment to peacekeeping, peacemaking and peace-building stems from our national ethos and it is a corner stone of our foreign policy, he added.
"We do not participate in these missions out of pecuniary motives because, though our peacekeeping contingents are large for the United Nations, they are still a small fraction of our armed forces."
Pakistani peacekeepers, he said, serve the UN beyond the call of duty.
Earlier, Colonel Solat Rana, military adviser to the Pakistan Mission to the United Nations, welcomed the guests that included diplomats from missions to the United Nations, senior UN officials and journalists.
The function was attended by heads of diplomatic missions accredited to the United Nations, senior UN officials and journalists.
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