Pakistan is pressing the United Nations (UN) for “emergency action” to support the poorest countries and also for structural changes to redress the deficiencies perpetuating inequality among and within nations, students from a United States (US) university were told Monday. “The developing countries now face the triple food, fuel and finance crises,” Ambassador Aamir Khan, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, said in a meeting with the student group from Wisconsin-Milwaukee University held at the Pakistani Mission in New York. The crises that the Pakistani envoy spoke of stem from a series of recent external “shocks” to the world economy – the Covid-19 pandemic, the spike in the prices of commodities and goods, the growing frequency and intensity of the impacts of climate change and proliferating conflicts. “These crises have disproportionately affected the poorest people, reversing the gains of decades of development and pushing another 100 million into extreme poverty,” he added, Pakistan, he told the students, had a long history of active participation and constructive leadership at the UN on development, security, human rights, and other issues, having served eight times on the Security Council, being elected six times as the President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC); and almost continuously on the Human Rights Council. “Pakistan is one of the major contributors of troops to the UN peacekeeping – contributing 200,000 troops in 47 UN peacekeeping missions – with an outstanding record of performance,” he added. At the United Nations, Aamir Khan said Pakistan’s primary aim is to secure the recognized right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. “We have welcomed the UN Secretary-General (SG) statement that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute should be resolved on the basis of ‘the UN Charter and the Security Council resolutions’, which prescribe that the “final disposition” of the state will be determined through a free and fair plebiscite under UN auspices. “Pakistan will continue to press for the implementation of the Security Council resolutions,” he added. “The UN membership furthermore recognizes Pakistan’s critical role in stabilizing Afghanistan by preventing a humanitarian crisis and economic collapse, promoting peace through reconciliation, and eliminating the threat of terrorism from Afghanistan’s territory,” he said. “Pakistan also plays a key role in promoting Islamic causes at the UN. Pakistan led the OIC countries in the adoption by consensus of the General Assembly resolution which declared March 15, as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.” “Pakistan has just ended its Chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China (125 developing countries) and was leading the negotiations at the CoP27 Climate Conference and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit next year,” he pointed out.