NEW YORK: Pakistan is a responsible country and it will play key role in resolving the international disputes worldwide.
It was stated by Pakistan’s Alternate Permanent Representative in the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad. The Pakistani national flag was installed in front of the United Nations Security Council chamber as Pakistan began its eighth term as a non-permanent member (2025-26) of the 15-member body.
Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad installed the national flag at the ceremony.
Addressing the ceremony at UN, Ambassador Asim said that it is an honour for Pakistan to become the non-permanent member of UNSC.
“Pakistan always supported peace. We’ll play our role in resolving the international disputes,” he said.
He added that Pakistan will play its role in implementing the charter of United Nations. Pakistan will preside over the 15-member Council in July when it assumes its presidency according to alphabetical rotation of the member states’ official names. This will allow Islamabad to set the Security Council’s agenda.
The Security Council has 15 members, five of which – Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States – are permanent ones. The 10 non-permanent seats of the Council are allocated by geographic region, with five replaced each year.
The Security Council is considered to be the most powerful body of the United Nations. Earlier, Pakistan’s Ambassador to France and permanent delegate to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Asim Iftikhar Ahmad has urged support for the continued operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
He was addressing the eighth special session of UNESCO’s executive board. The session highlighted the dire situation in Gaza, with a call for accountability for Israel’s actions and renewed support for Palestinian refugees.
The ambassador pointed out the devastating impact of the conflict on education in Gaza, saying that around 10,000 students had been killed and 15,000 injured, and over 400 teachers killed and more than 2,400 injured. He highlighted that almost the entire educational infrastructure, including school buildings, had been either completely or partially destroyed.
“The loss of human lives and scale of destruction are unimaginable,” Ahmad remarked.
He condemned Israel’s actions as unprecedented violations of international and humanitarian law, accusing the occupying power of imposing a prolonged blockade, denying humanitarian assistance, and deliberately targeting humanitarian workers and organisations. –Agencies
