Pakistan will continue to play effective role for UN peacekeeping: COAS

RAWALPINDI: Army Chief General Qamar Jawed Bajwa on Monday assured Pakistan will continue to play an effective role for United Nations’ (UN) peacekeeping operations.

The army chief made the comments during a meeting with UN Under-Secretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

“Pakistan is the largest contributor to un peacekeeping forces,” General Bajwa told the UN under-secretary-general.

Further, Jean-Pierre Lacroix commended Pakistan’s role in UN’s peacekeeping efforts across the globe.

“We value the sacrifices of the Pakistani nation,” Lacroix said.

"We are extremely grateful to Pakistan for its warm welcome and also for outstanding contribution to UN peacekeeping."

The UN under-secretary-general said that his visit was an opportunity to pay tribute to 156 Pakistani peacekeepers who lost their lives serving the UN.

"This visit was also an opportunity to pay tribute to 156 Pakistani peacekeepers who lost their lives serving the UN, we express special thought for them, for their memory and also their families and we also would like to extend our thanks and gratitude to all the Pakistani peacekeepers currently serving in our missions and as well as their families. All of them are paying a price for that and we are extremely grateful," he said.

Lacroix said that Pakistan Army and armed forces' contributions to their missions was really making a difference and they thought it’s an outstanding contribution to the cause of peace and stability in the world.

"In many cases peacekeepers make the difference between lives and deaths for these vulnerable civilians, and there again we have seen how much the Pakistani peacekeepers were helpful in protecting civilians," he said.

Later, the under-secretary-general also visited National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST).