LAHORE – Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar will embark upon a two-day visit to China’s Special Administrative Region Hong Kong today to participate in the signing ceremony for the Convention on the establishment of the International Organization for Mediation.
He will sign the IOMed Convention and address the ceremony tomorrow.
He will also hold several bilateral engagements on the sidelines of the meeting.
Pakistan has joined the IOMed as one of its founding members. Pakistan remained strongly supportive of the aims and objectives of IOMed, recognizing its potential for mediation as well as peaceful and pacific settlement of international disputes.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering commitment and support for all efforts aimed at strengthening UN peacekeeping missions.
In his message on the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, he mentioned that more than two hundred and thirty-five thousand Pakistani peacekeepers have served with distinction in forty-eight missions across the globe in the seven-decade-long history of United Nations peacekeeping missions. One hundred and eighty-one Pakistani peacekeepers have made the ultimate sacrifice in the cause of international peace and security.
Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan also hosts the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), one of the oldest UN peacekeeping missions. Its mandate is to monitor the ceasefire along the Line of Control in the UN-recognized disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
He said recent developments in South Asia have highlighted the urgent need to ensure a just resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people, while reinforcing the role and presence of UNMOGIP.
The Prime Minister urged the international community to reaffirm its commitment to the successful policies of the United Nations in maintaining international peace and security and to redouble efforts to adapt UN peacekeeping to the rapidly emerging challenges.
Pakistan never considered nuclear option during clashes with India: Dar
