Pakistan joins World Community in celebrating International Day of UN Peacekeepers
by Mati
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan on Friday joined the International Community in celebrating the “International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers”, and reiterated its unwavering commitment to world peace.
In a statement, the Foreign Office said that as a consistent leading troop contributing country, Pakistan is cognizant of the important role played by the UN peacekeepers in maintaining security and stability in so many of the world’s conflict zones.
It said that we salute the services and sacrifices rendered by peacekeepers from around the world and reiterate our solemn commitment to continue working with the United Nations for the ideals of peace, stability, and cooperation espoused by the ‘blue helmets’.
The Foreign Office said that Pakistan is proud of its long-standing contributions to UN peacekeeping spanning over six decades. It said that our peacekeepers have earned well-deserved respect and goodwill for their professionalism and devotion to duty in every mission they have participated in.
Since 1960, over 200,000 of our servicemen have served with honor and distinction in 46 UN missions in 26 Countries in almost all continents of the world, the Foreign Office said.
It said that 157 of our gallant peacekeepers have made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of international peace and security.
It said that Pakistan has also led the way in deputing female peacekeepers in a record time. In 2019, Pakistan met the 15 percent benchmark set by the UN Secretariat in the staff/ officers category. Our lady police officer Shahzadi Gulfam was the first-ever recipient of the International Female Police Peacekeeper Award in 2011.
The Foreign Office said that Pakistan’s contribution to peacekeeping on the ground has been complemented by our sustained engagement in policy development in peacekeeping.
“We bring a unique perspective to peacekeeping as a leading troop contributing country as well as a host country to one of the oldest peacekeeping missions, UNMOGIP.
On this day, we reaffirm our commitment to ensure that peacekeeping remains a potent mechanism of maintaining peace, security, and stability in the world,” it said.