By Iftikhar Ali
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 01 (APP): The UN Security Council Friday renewed the European Union-led stabilization force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR-Althea) for an additional year, with Pakistan underlining the mission’s ‘positive’ role in fostering peace and stability in the western Balkan country.
The Council acted unanimously in adopting Resolution 2795 and authorized the member states acting through or in cooperation with the EU to establish, for another 12 months, a multinational stabilization force, or EUFOR-Althea.
EUFOR-Althea is mandated to help implement the military aspects of the 1995 General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina
(GFAP), also known as the Dayton Agreement, which put an end to the deadly 1992-1995 Bosnian War.
In 2004, nine years after the war ended, the EU launched the military Operation Althea in the country. This followed the decision by NATO to hand over its own peacekeeping mission that had maintained security in the region since the war ended.
In his remarks, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the 15-member Council that Pakistan had supported the resolution extending the mandate of EUFOR-Althea in recognition of this mission’s positive role in promoting peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“In recent months, Bosnia and Herzegovina has been through political and constitutional challenges, marked by rising tensions, institutional paralysis, radical rhetoric, and the promotion of secessionist narratives,” the Pakistani envoy said.
“But,” he added, “while the internal political situation remained under stress, it is a relief that these tensions did not develop into a more serious situation affecting peace and calm in the country and on its borders.”
The Pakistani envoy said that GFAP, coupled with the governance architecture and state institutions envisaged under this agreement, as well as the country’s Constitution, remained the cornerstone for peace, stability and progress.
Pakistan, he said, was convinced that lasting peace, enduring stability and sustained progress and development of all peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina can be best achieved by adhering to the fundamental principles enshrined in the General Agreement for Peace and the State’s Constitution.
Highlighting Pakistan’s warm and fraternal ties with Bosnia and Herzegovina and its people, Ambassador Asim Ahmad reaffirmed resolute support for its sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity, and firmly opposed any rhetoric or actions that in any manner seek to undermine it.
About the holding of Presidential elections in Republika Srpska, he hoped that they would be held in a peaceful manner.
In this regard, the Pakistani envoy voiced concern about the use of inflammatory language to stoke tensions in the country and urged all political actors to exercise prudence and act responsibly.
“Bosnia, as a sovereign state, has the right to choose its own partnerships and path towards integration in regional political and economic organizations,” Ambassador Asim Ahmad said, adding, “A constructive, forward-looking and inclusive dialogue among all political actors and entities will further advance the process of internal reforms.”
APP/ift