ISLAMABAD: The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers was observed at the UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday. Secretary-General António Guterres addressed the ceremony and conferred the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal posthumously on 117 military, police and civilian peacekeepers who lost their lives while serving under the UN flag last year.

Among the peacekeepers honoured, six are from Pakistan: Police L/Cpl Tahir Ikram, Police L/Cpl Adil Jan, and SGT Muhammad Naeem [who served with UN-AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)]; NCE Tahir Mehmood [deployed with the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO)]; SGT Muhammad Shafeeq [who served in the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA)]; and Abrar Sayed [who served in civilian capacity with (MINURSO)].

As one of the top troop-contributing countries, Pakistan deeply values the vital role played by the “blue helmets” in maintaining security and stability in many conflict-ridden areas around the world. Pakistan is proud of its long-standing and consistent contribution to UN peacekeeping spanning over six decades. Since 1960, over 200,000 of our men and women have served with honour and valour in 46 UN Missions in almost all continents of the world. Through their professionalism and dedication, our peacekeepers have always distinguished themselves in every mission they have participated.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022