UNITED NATIONS, Sep 15 (APP): Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Munir Akram underscored the importance of the UN despite the many challenges it faces in a New York Times article published Tuesday that reviews the performance of the world body as the organization begins its landmark 75th General Assembly session.
The Pakistani envoy was featured in the article, entitled “As UN Turns 75, the Celebration Is Muted by Calamity and Conflict”, nothing that Pakistan “remains locked in a protracted dispute with India over the Kashmir region, a chronic flash point for the nuclear-armed rivals.”
“As the world body turns 75, it also faces profound questions about its own effectiveness, and even its relevance,” Times’ correspondent Richard Gladstone wrote in the article which points to UN’s weaknesses and achievements. “Still, despite its challenges, many ambassadors now see the United Nations as an even more vital forum, if only as a place for members to vent grievances,” the Times said.
“Without the UN, you don’t have a safety valve,” Ambassador Akram was quoted as saying.
”You know you’ll not get a solution, but you can defuse the domestic pressure exerted on governments faced with intractable problems,” he said.
“Just imagine if we couldn’t raise Kashmir in the Security Council. There would be tremendous pressure on our government to do something.”\867
