The United Nations Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean Marie Guehenno, on Wednesday called on the President General Pervez Musharraf and conveyed Secretary General Kofi Annan's concern over the recent attempts on the President's life.
Under Secretary General congratulated the President on his vote of confidence in the Parliament and on the successful holding of the 12th Saarc Summit in Islamabad.
Guehenno hoped that the Summit and its important decisions would create a positive environment in the region, paving the way for improved economic co-operation among the Saarc member states for the benefit of their people.
The Under Secretary General thanked Pakistan for its contribution of troops for various United Nations peacekeeping missions.
Presently, over 5,300 Pakistani troops and observers are deployed in different parts of the world, including Congo, Sierra Leone, East Timor and Liberia, making Pakistan the largest peacekeeping troop contributor to the United Nations.
He also indicated that the UN might request for additional troops from Pakistan, for further foreseen peacekeeping missions.
The President assured the Under Secretary General of Pakistan's co-operation for the cause of the United Nations and global peace and security.
The Under secretary-general highly praised the professional qualities of the Pakistani troops and also of the Pakistani commanders of various UN Peacekeeping missions.
The President highlighted the need for sustained co-operation between Pakistan and the United Nations in diverse fields, including promotion of global peace and security, as well as UN peacekeeping.
While noting and appreciating the important role that the United Nations Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) is playing in promoting peace and co-operation in the region, the President stated that the positive bilateral developments on Tuesday, further reinforced Pakistan's proposals that UNMOGIP should be further strengthened.
UNMOGIP could play an important role in support of the confidence building measures recently initiated by Pakistan and India.
Earlier Guehenno addressed a gathering of scholars and intellectuals at the Institute of Strategic Studies on "UN Peacekeeping Operations and Pakistan's Role". Former Foreign Minister Agha Shahi chaired the Seminar.
Under Secretary General highlighted the challenges faced by the United Nations in peacekeeping in post 9/11 global scenario.
He said Pakistan's contribution to the United Nations peacekeeping is highly regarded by the international community because of professionalism of the troops and quality of leadership.
Pakistani troops turned some of the difficult peacekeeping missions in Africa to success story of the United Nations.
Comments
Comments are closed.