Pakistan Army Women Peacekeepers Serving with Distinction across the World
Blue helmets from Pakistan have a long and storied history with United Nations peacekeeping missions and the country is the third-largest contributor of personnel since participation began in 1960.
Continuing this proud tradition of the Pakistani armed forces, 78 Pakistan Army women peacekeepers are serving under the umbrella of the UN in various roles across the world.
Pakistan also successfully achieved the goal of 15pc women participation in UN peacekeeping missions in early 2019.
Pakistan Army women peacekeepers are serving as part of Female Engagement Teams (FETs) and as staff officers at various headquarters. Pakistan was also the first country to deploy female engagement teams to Congo on June 19, 2019.
Apart from two female engagement teams in Congo, a third team would commence operations from March in the Central African Republic.
So far, around 450 women peacekeepers from Pakistan have served in UN missions.
The women peacekeepers from Pakistan have won numerous accolades, including tributes at the UN and medals for exceptional performances and services.
In 2019, Major Samia Rehman was awarded a certificate of appreciation by the special representative of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres – who is currently on a historic visit of Pakistan commencing on February 16.
Major Aroof Arif won appreciation for being the only female officer participating in the grueling Dancon March – a taxing 25km march for five hours. Another Pakistani officer, Major Sadia, has been a proud member of the UN Integrated Training Team for the last two years.
Similarly, Pakistani female officers have excelled with 39 trained at the Centre for International Peace and Stability (CIPS), established by Pakistan to share its experience and promote best practices in peacekeeping, besides 23 officers completing training in other international institutions of repute.
Earlier this month, members of the first-ever Pakistani Female Engagement Team (FET), deployed with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), were awarded the UN Medal at a ceremony in Adikivu in South Kivu.
This team of 15 female officers, who serve with the ranks of Major and Captain, was stationed there in June last year, and their association was marked by the raising of the Pakistan flag at the mission.
The officers included psychologists, stress counsellors, vocational training officers, gender advisors, doctors, nurses, operations officers, information officers and logistics officers.
The MONUSCO peacekeeping mission said in a press release that another 17 female officers will join the team this month.
Following this achievement, top United States diplomat Alice Wells said she was inspired by Pakistani women serving in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo.
The US diplomat also took to social media and lauded the Pakistani women for serving with “distinction” in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, prominent defense analysts elaborated on the significance of Pakistan’s contribution to UN peacekeeping duties and why it forms a cornerstone of the country’s foreign policy.
“Participation in UN peacekeeping operations is now a tenet of Pakistan’s foreign policy. It takes its inspiration from the policy statement of the founder of the nation that Pakistan wants peace with all nations of the world,” said Prof Tughral Yamin, who teaches peacekeeping as a subject and has written a book titled ‘ UN Peacekeeping Operations in Somalia 1999-1995: A Pakistani Perspective’.
“For a small nation in terms of power potential, participation in UN peacekeeping missions provides a suitable presence on the international arena,” Prof Yamin said. “Participation in a peacekeeping mission is also a soft way of portraying the country’s image as a responsible member state of the UN,” he added.
According to Prof Yamin, peacekeeping missions also provided the Pakistan Army a useful way to showcase its skills in a positive manner. “Pakistan has a first rate professional army. For members of the armed forces, these missions provide great international exposure and allow them to work together with multinational forces and staffs and learn the latest skills in conflict management and post conflict stabilization operations,” he said.
Prof Yamin also highlighted how participation in peacekeeping duties has had a positive impact at the regional level. “It is interesting to note that while Pakistan and India are sworn enemies, they have amicably operated together on UN peacekeeping missions,” he pointed out.
Maj Gen (retd) Inamul Haque agreed with Prof Yamin in that UN peacekeeping missions have added value to our troops and built their image abroad. “Our prominence in such operations has earned both our country and forces immense goodwill,” he noted. “Although I never had the chance to participate myself, in Liberia, where my battalion was deployed in a peacekeeping role, they still remember Pakistanis and laud us.”
According to Gen Inam, Pakistan’s commitment to UN peacekeeping is “driven by the feeling that we have certain responsibilities under the UN Charter and we need to fulfill them.” He added that “Pakistanis, as a nation, also have a strong urge to help other people and nations in times of crisis, irrespective of religion and creed.”
“Although countries that provide peacekeepers receive some remuneration from the UN, this has never been a consideration for us. Whereas a lot of participating forces ask the UN to provide arms and equipment for peacekeeping missions, we have always relied on our own equipment and assets,” he pointed out.
Elaborating on peacekeeping missions, Gen Inam explained that they entail several different kinds of operations. “These include peace enforcement, which involves some measure of fighting, as well as stability operations, policing, logistics support, medical assistance and aiding civil government in activities like holding elections,” he said.
According to him, when it came to UN missions, Pakistan’s contribution has been ‘multifarious and across the board’. “From Europe to Africa and the Middle East, we have been the trendsetters when it comes to many UN peacekeeping missions, performing all sorts of operations,” he said.
“When it comes to officers, ours have served in both staff and command positions. Many of our senior officers have even headed UN missions. Even in times of crisis, when we were fighting terrorism and rooting out insurgency on our Western border while engaged with India on the East, we have fulfilled our peacekeeping obligations,” Gen Inam stated.
“It is not just military personnel or men that we have contributed either. We have sent police officials to support various UN peacekeeping operations and we have also provided lady officers serving in both military and police forces,” he added.
Gen Inam also pointed out how well Pakistan had acquitted itself in peacekeeping missions compared to others. “Where other countries’ peacekeeping record is marred by incidents ranging from theft and misappropriation to those as abhorrent as abuse and rape, Pakistan’s record for the most part has been spotless,” he said.
Indeed, Pakistani Blue Helmets’ performance has been widely acknowledged by both the UN leadership and world leaders… The Express Tribune
‑ “It is impossible to speak about the history of United Nations peacekeeping without highlighting such contributions of Pakistan. I thank you very much.”
UN diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi also praised Pakistan for its peacekeeping role in Haiti, expressing his ‘sincere admiration’ for the ‘splendid work’ of the Pakistani battalion deployed there.’’ – The Express Tribune
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