News
Monday, September 19, 2011
Hina Khar in NY for UN General Assembly session
UNITED NATIONS: Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar arrived in New York on Saturday to lead Pakistan’s delegation to the 66th session of the UN General Assembly, which is set to debate next week the looming crises from conflicts to climate change and development issues.
Hina assumed the leadership of the delegation, which includes Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, after Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani decided to stay back in Pakistan to oversee the relief operations in the flood-devastated areas of Sindh and Balochistan.
During her 11-day visit, the foreign minister will address the 193-member assembly on a date yet to be fixed and have bilateral meetings with a number of her counterparts from around the world, including those from the permanent members of UN Security Council.
On Monday, she is scheduled to confer with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Her meeting with Clinton comes at a critical time for the region as well as Pakistan-US relations, considered key to successful outcome of decade-old Afghan conflict.
Ten years on since 9/11 terrorist attacks, Pakistan has paid much price - in terms of both human and economic losses - in the fight against al Qaeda and Taliban militants. But oft-repeated demands by Washington coupled with frequent blames for failings in Afghanistan on Pakistan - make Islamabad’s counter-terror task more difficult.
More than 120 heads of state and government are slated to participate in the General Debate beginning on Wednesday. A series of high-level meetings on issues ranging from non-communicable diseases and nutrition to nuclear safety and desertification will also be held.
The foreign minister will also take part in various other meetings on the sidelines of the assembly such as that of the OIC Contact Group on Kashmir, informal SAARC ministerial session, high-level round tables to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and a meeting of the Uniting for Consensus (UfC) group on UN Security Council reform.
The General Assembly session is being held in the backdrop of the raging controversy over Palestine’s bid to seek recognition of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem - occupied by Israel in 1967 - after the breakdown of peace negotiations between Israelis and the Palestinians. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in Ramallah this week that he intends to submit a request for full UN membership.
But the United States, which supports Israel, said it will veto the request if submitted to the UN Security Council, in which permanent members can veto resolutions. President Abbas is scheduled to address the General Assembly on September 23. The assembly got underway on Tuesday with a spirited call for the peaceful settlement of outstanding disputes as part of four-point working agenda guiding the UN main deliberative body.
Security in New York has been beefed up ahead of the arrival of world leaders. A number of police checkpoints has been established and the area around the UN building will be virtually sealed off next week. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk