Pakistan says will push for peace in Middle East if elected non-permanent UNSC member

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Munir Akram speaks during a General Assembly meeting to review Palestine’s application for full membership at the United Nations in New York on May 1, 2024. (Photo courtesy: Pakistan Mission to UN)

• Elections for five of 10 non-permanent seats of UNSC for 2025-26 to take place on June 6
• Pakistan has been elected as non-permanent UNSC member seven times, most recently in 2013

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will work for peace in the Middle East and Africa, and promote the right of self-determination of people living under foreign occupation if it gets elected as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN said on Sunday. 
Elections for five of the 10 non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council for 2025-26 are set to take place on June 6. Pakistan says its candidacy has the endorsement of the 55-member Asian Group.
The South Asian country has been elected to the Security Council seven times, most recently in 2013. Other times Pakistan got elected was in 1952-1953, 1968-1969, 1976-1977, 1983-1984, 1993-1994 and 2003-2004.
Speaking to members of the US-based Pakistan Students Association Coalition (PSA Coalition) via video link, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN Munir Akram said election to the Security Council would require Islamabad to play a leading role in addressing Kashmir, Afghanistan and counterterrorism issues. 
“Pakistan will articulate developing countries’ aspirations, work for peace and in the Middle East and Africa as well as promote the right of self-determination for peoples under foreign occupation if elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council,” Akram said, according to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP). 
Akram spoke about the current state of the world. including key global challenges amid regional conflicts. 
“He said that as the intense competition between major powers became a new reality of the world order, the world was undergoing a fast transition from its unipolar status to a bipolar plus order,” the APP said. 
The Pakistani ambassador’s comments came as Israel continues its relentless military assault on Gaza. Israel’s attacks against Hamas have killed at least 35,386 people, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. 
The Jewish state’s siege has brought dire food shortages and the threat of famine to the densely populated territory.
Pakistan, which does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, has consistently called for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East and urged world powers to work toward a two-state solution in the restive region, according to the aspirations of the people of Palestine.