KENTUCKY,US, June 9 (APP): Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States  Jalil Abbas Jilani Thursday attended the funeral of Muhammad Ali held in the state of Kentucky where thousands of his admirers and celebrities converged to pay their homage to the boxing legend.

Ambassador Jilani paid rich tribute to the great Muslim boxer on behalf
of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and offered prayers for the departed soul and his family. He also laid a floral wreath to honor Ali, who was regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated sports figures of the 20th century.

A three-time world heavyweight champion, Ali died on Friday at the age
of 74. The news of his death sent a shockwave throughout the world, including the United States where he had a great following.An estimated 14,000 people attended his funeral, according to media reports.

Ambassador Jilani offered condolences to the family of late Muhammad Ali  and conveyed message of goodwill and sympathy from the Government and people of Pakistan.

Members of the Pakistani American community lauded the gesture of the  Pakistan government and Prime Minister Sharif in acknowledgement of Ali’s huge contribution to the field of sports and to his selfless services for the welfare of the humanity.

While paying homage to the departed soul, the Ambassador eulogized Ali  for his role as an active public figure, philanthropist who remained dedicated to his faith and humanitarian beliefs throughout his life. He underscored that Ali’s charisma and conviction continued to inspire and unite millions of people around the world.

Ambassador Jilani noted that Muhammad Ali was a great sports Ambassador,  a greater human being and an inspiring Muslim in the United States history.

He was loved and admired by Pakistanis as one of their own. Ali had visited Pakistan at the peak of his career. Fond memories of his visit were still cherished by the people of Pakistan.

Thousands of people, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
and members of Pakistani-American community joined the funeral prayers held in the city of Louisville in the Kentucky state.

On this occasion, Ambassador Jilani also met with Turkish President who  conveyed his good wishes for the Prime Minister and people of Pakistan. Consul General of Pakistan in New York also participated in the event.

US President Barack Obama also paid tribute to the legendary boxer in a  facebook live broadcast saying it was very rare where a figure captures the imagination of the entire world. “He was one of a kind and in my book, he’ll always be the greatest.”

UNITED NATIONS, June 10 (APP): Pakistan has called for the adoption of a global compact at the upcoming U.N. summit on refugees and migrants that would address as a “matter of utmost priority” the pressing issue of recurring tragedies resulting from shipwrecks in the Mediterranean as those desperately seeking asylum try to reach Europe.

“The shockingly high number of ‘fatalities in transit’ has been the most chilling aspect of the current refugee crisis,” Pakistan’s Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi said on Thursday in the course of negotiations on the outcome document of the summit on “Large movements of Refugees and Migrants”.

The top-level meeting will take place at UN Headquarters in New York on 19 September prior to the general debate of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly.

In her remarks, Ambassador Lodhi also urged the international community not to ignore the world’s protracted refugee situations, while underscoring the need to finding lasting solutions. Pakistan, she said, has been host to nearly three million refugees for close to four decades now. She regretted that the international community has failed to find a lasting political solution to this problem while support for their assistance and repatriation had also dried up with the passage of time.

“This has not only increased economic burden on my country but also created complex social and political problems”, the Pakistani envoy added.

Ambassador Lodhi expressed the hope that the Summit’s outcome document would focus equal attention on protracted refugee situations, while calling for enhanced assistance for host governments and communities and greater international support for early and sustainable repatriation of refugees in protracted situations.

Voicing concern at the rise in xenophobia, Ambassador Lodhi urged the world body to make an “unequivocal pronouncement” against all forms of xenophobia, especially when directed against those desperately seeking protection and asylum.

The Summit, she said, must make it clear that any public rhetoric against refugees is against the principles laid down in the 1951 Refugee Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“The Summit should clearly reaffirm the principle of equal treatment of refugees and migrants and reject discrimination on any basis or consideration,” Ambassador Lodhi said.

Pakistan, she said, believes that the outcome document should be focused, crisp and comprehensive. “It should address all the problems faced by refugees, both in acute and in protracted situations, while responding urgently and effectively to the pressing challenges at hand”.

Recognizing that the current crisis is beyond the capacity of any one country, Pakistan supported the principle of regional and global burden sharing. However, Ambassador Lodhi said, it has to be borne in mind that global burden sharing has to be in accordance with the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibility and must also take into account other relevant factors such as “geographical proximity”.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a recent report, called for the adoption of a global agreement on responsibility-sharing that collectively ensures the human rights, safety and dignity of all refugees and migrants.

“Away from the daily headlines and stark images, strains are quietly accumulating on refugees and migrants, as well as on countries and communities that receive them, sometimes for many years,” Ban stressed in his report to the UN General Assembly, entitled In Safety and Dignity: addressing large movements of refugees and migrants.

“If one lesson can be drawn from the past few years, it is that individual countries cannot solve these issues on their own. International cooperation and action to address large movements of refugees and migrants must be strengthened,” he added.