Daily Times

With challenges to world peace and security multiplying, the United Nations needs to work out modalities to deal with those threats, facilitating resolution of conflicts, including Kashmir, and easing tensions by building consensus, Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram has said. Despite the United Nations’ inadequacies and failures, especially in resolving the conflicts involving the right to self-determination, he told a delegation of US Army War College that a push for the implementation of UN Charter’s principles “in letter and spirit” could help stabilize the world order, secure peace and stability and fight the shared economic and development challenges. Pakistan, he added, remains committed to the purposes and principles of the Charter. The delegation, composed of US officers and from other nations, visited the Permanent Mission of Pakistan on Friday in connection with their study tour. Speaking to the delegates, Ambassador Akram said that the UN’s vital role as a facilitator of dialogue, engagement and coordinated global action against threats such as Covid-19 pandemic was often overlooked. He said that different UN agencies, such as World Trade Organization, World Health Organization and World Intellectual Property Organization, were doing good work to make the world a better place for all. The ambassador also praised the UN Secretary-General’s proposed ‘Our Common Agenda’ designed to strengthen and accelerate multilateral agreements – particularly the 2030 Agenda – and make a tangible difference in people’s lives. “This initiative will help the UN system adjust to the new, complex realities of contemporary times,” he added. Ambassador Akram gave an overview of the Kashmir dispute and said that India was keeping the people of the internationally recognized disputed territory deprived of their fundamental right to self-determination. He also slammed the illegal and immoral actions India had taken after August 5, 2019, to unilaterally alter the status of Jammu and Kashmir. “Durable peace in South Asia will continue to be elusive as long as the Jammu and Kashmir issue is not resolved in line with the UN resolutions and the aspirations of Kashmiris,” he added. Ambassador Akram said that the peacekeeping missions were central to the UN system, saying Pakistan was among the largest troop-contributing countries, having provided about 230,000 troops since 1960.