Tributes were paid to Agha Shahi, one of Pakistan's most distinguished diplomats who passed away on Wednesday, at a condolence meeting held in the Pakistan mission to the UN on Friday.
Shahi, considered an expert on United Nations, spent a number of years in New York serving in various capacities at the Pakistan mission until he was appointed as ambassador to the world body in 1969. He played a role in a number of events of great importance - the admission of the Peoples Republic of China to the UN in 1971, the Middle East as an architect of a Security Council resolution on the Status of Jerusalem, in helping to resolve the Afghanistan crisis and in creating awareness of the importance of disarmament.
He was an outspoken supporter of Kashmiri and Palestinian peoples' right of self-determination. He also spoke out strongly in favour of African liberation movements, especially the struggle to end the apartheid system in South Africa.
The condolence meeting was attended by all officers and staff members of Pakistan mission to the UN and the Consulate General as well as Pakistanis serving in the UN.