Visiting Federal Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Senator Babar Awan, on Thursday discussed the current situation in Pakistan with UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Miguel d'Escoto when he called on the 192-member body chief. The minister thanked the President for his role in the process that led to the posthumous conferment of the UN Human Rights Award on Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.
According to a press release of the Pakistan Mission to the UN. He also expressed condolences to the President over the death of five UN officials in last month's blast at Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar, and assured him that Pakistan Government would extend all possible assistance to their families.
Briefing the UNGA President on the anti-Taliban military operation in Swat and Malakand, the minister said 90 percent of the area had been cleared of the militants and that the dislocated people would begin returning home from July 13, the press release said. A special support programme, with experience of rehabilitation and reconstruction work, had been tasked to oversee their return, he said, adding that every family would be given Rs 300,000 for resettling purposes.
Previously, he said, there was some confusion about the ownership of the war against militants, but the democratically elected government took the issue to parliament, which unanimously approved action against the militants. "Things are now looking better for Pakistan," the press release quoted the president as saying.
About the economic situation, Awan said the reform agenda initiated by the government had turned the situation around from a grave position about a year ago. The President appreciated the government efforts to overcome the economic challenges, according to the press release.
Senator Babar Awan also met Under-Secretary-General for Communication and Public Information Kiyotaka Akasaka. Akasaka informed the minister that since that the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Pakistan did not have a director, an emergency team had been dispatched to maintain communications between various UN agencies working in the country and to create awareness internationally on the plight of millions of dislocated persons.
Awan informed the under-secretary-general that the government had created a new website, which carried all information about the dislocated persons, including the funds being received and dispersed, as a measure aimed at transparency.
During his visit to the United Nations Headquarters, Awan also interacted with British Ambassador Sir John Sawers, French Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, Russian Ambassador Konstantin Dolgov, Algerian Ambassador Mourand Bemnehidi, Cota Rican Ambassador Jorge Urbina and senior UN officials, including Lisa Buttenheim, Director of the Asia and the Pacific, at the Department of Political Affairs.