ISLAMABAD: Ambassador Munir Akram, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations has said Pakistan is committed to the fundamental principles of the UN Charter; self-determination of peoples, non-use or threat of use of force, sovereignty and territorial integrity of States, and pacific settlement of disputes.
This he said in a statement on Wednesday at Emergency Special Session of UN General Assembly in New Yor. He said: “Equally, Pakistan upholds the principle of equal and indivisible security for all. These principles must be consistently and universally respected.”
The ambassador said Pakistan remains deeply concerned at the recent turn of events. “This reflects a failure of diplomacy. Prime Minister Imran Khan has regretted the latest situation between Russia and Ukraine, and said that Pakistan had hoped that diplomacy could avert military conflict.”
He said: “We have since repeatedly stressed the need for de-escalation, renewed negotiations, sustained dialogue, and continuous diplomacy. All efforts must be made to avoid further escalation of violence and loss of life as well as military, political and economic tensions which can pose an unprecedented threat to international peace and security and global economic stability.”
He said as consistently underlined by Prime Minister Imran Khan, the developing countries are hit the hardest economically by conflict anywhere. We hope the talks initiated between representatives of the Russian Federation and Ukraine will succeed in bringing about a cessation of hostilities and normalization of the situation.
Mr Munir said a diplomatic solution in accordance with relevant multilateral agreements, international law, and the provisions of the UN Charter is indispensable. He said Pakistan also supports all efforts to provide humanitarian relief to civilians in the affected areas. The Government of Pakistan is most concerned about the safety and welfare of Pakistani citizens and students in Ukraine.
The majority of them have been evacuated. Those who remain will be evacuated soonest. We appreciate the cooperation of the Ukrainian authorities as well as the Polish, Romanian and Hungarian governments in this context, he concluded.
