Pakistan vying UNSC seat to address Kashmir, counter-terrorism issues: envoy

• Pakistan's candidacy has support of 55-member Asian Group.
• Country has previously been elected as UNSC member seven times.
• Elections for 10 non-permanent member seats to be held on June 6.
  

Pakistan's Permanent Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Munir Akram Sunday said that Islambad is vying to secure a place as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) allowing it to address Kashmir and counter-terrorism issues.

"We are hopeful that we will be elected at the polls on June 6 as a non-permanent member of the UNSC," Ambassador Akram said while speaking virtually to the members of the US-based Pakistan Students Association Coalition (PSA).

"[Being elected] will bring a lot of responsibilities on Pakistan to play a leadership role in addressing not only our issues which are the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Afghanistan and counter-terrorism but also to promote consensus on peacekeeping," he added.

His remarks come as Islamabad has so far secured the endorsement of the 55-member Asian Group for the elections for five of the 10 non-permanent seats on the Security Council for the term 2025-26 slated for next month.

Pakistan has been elected to the Security Council seven times, with the most recent term being in 2013. Other occasions were 1952-1953, 1968-1969, 1976-1977, 1983-1984, 1993-1994 and 2003-2004.

Furthermore, the envoy accentuated that the opportunity would allow them to "articulate the aspirations and the rights of the developing countries and push for peace and security in the Middle East, Africa and the promotion of the right to self-determination for the people facing foreign occupation".

Underscoring the country's active role in the inter-governmental organisation, the envoy recalled Islamabad's leading role in advocating the concepts of vaccine equality, and the creation of new money for the developing countries enabling them to fight off the impact of COVID-19 — an effort that led to restructuring of debt and suspension of interest payments by G-20 and therefore providing a substantial relief to the developing world.

"Likewise, the establishment of the instrument of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) of $650 billion by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led to the provision of additional resources to the developing countries in navigating the economic challenges.

"We are now asking for redistribution of the unused SDRs among those developing countries that are in acute need to realize their commitment to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and deal with the challenge of climate change," Ambassador Akram noted.

Commenting on the upcoming Summit of the Future, the envoy underscored Pakistan's efforts to build consensus with other developing countries to protect their legitimate interests and rights during the negotiation process for the Pact for Future.