NEW YORK, April 22: Pakistan enjoys enormous respect at the United Nations that it has earned by the constructive role it has played at the world body, Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi has said.
Pakistan’s standing at the UN, over the years, is reflected in the multiple times it has been elected to key UN bodies, she told a delegation of the US War College at the Pakistan Mission to the UN, according a Mission press release.
For example, she said, Pakistan has been elected seven times to the Security Council and four times to the Human Rights Council.
Pakistan’s engagement at the UN, she said, extends to all three pillars of the UN system, Peace & Security, Development and Human Rights.
Among the world’s top troop contributing countries to UN peacekeeping, Pakistan’s role at the UN has been prominent in the area of hard power, but it has also contributed significantly in the area of soft power.
Ambassador Lodhi also briefed the delegation in detail on the gains Pakistan has made in the political, security and economic areas. On the political front, she said, democracy has been strengthened and consolidated with the country experiencing the longest period of uninterrupted democracy in its 70 year history.
Pakistan will see for the second time in its history the transfer of power from one elected government to another, after elections that are due in a few months time, she said. She told the participants that there is now a firm national consensus for democracy in the country and that the military is part of this consensus.
Democratic institutions and traditions are becoming stronger in Pakistan, Ambassador Lodhi said, pointing to an independent judiciary, a vibrant media and an expanding and diverse civil society.
On the security front, she said that Pakistan has turned the tide against terrorism in Pakistan. We have sought to eliminate all terrorist groups through a comprehensive strategy, involving forceful law enforcement actions and targeted military operations as well as actions to counter violent extremism and its toxic narrative, she added.
She told the participants that Pakistan had launched the largest anti-terrorism operation anywhere in the world, involving the deployment of 200,000 troops. This, she asserted, had produced remarkable results. Violence-related incidents including bombings and militant attacks in the country have declined dramatically and the number of terrorist attacks have fallen by almost 60 percent since 2010, and are now at the lowest level since 2006. This does not mean the challenge is over, but we are now in a much better place, she added. – NNI
