In order to celebrate the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers and express solidarity with the international community, Pakistani UN peacekeepers of civilian police, who have served at 15 UN missions, assembled at a local hotel here on Sunday.
The event was organised and conducted by M Ghalib Bandesha, retired inspector general of police, who served in Mozambique in 1994, in Bosnia 2001-02 and in Liberia in 2004-05.
Every year on May 29, the UN commemorates the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers to pay tribute to all men and women who served as military, police or civilians in peace keeping operations. The occasion offers a chance to applaud uniformed and civilian personnel’s invaluable contribution to the work of the organisation.
The theme for this year’s UN Day was ‘People, Peace, Progress. The Power of Partnerships’.
Speakers Afzal Cheema, Security Adviser in 4 missions from 1995-2015, A Razzaq Cheema, Police Observer in Bosnia and Liberia, Ms Shahzadi Gulfam, winner of International Female Peacekeeper Award for the year 2011, and Team Leader VPU in Timor Leste mission, Jawahir Shah, First-ever Contingent Commander of Police Contingent for Namibian mission in 1989-90 and Police Observer in Cambodia & Mozambique, Ahmad Raza Tahir, Contingent Commander of Police Contingent for Cambodian mission in 1992-93, and Sarmad Saeed Khan, Contingent Commander of Police Contingent for Liberian mission in 2004, lauded the services rendered by the UN and its peacekeepers in securing peace, security and stability in world’s conflict zones and highlighted the importance of building partnerships between people, organisations, civil society and state organs with the purpose to achieve lasting peace on the globe.
Chief guest Kaleem Imam, who has served in UN missions, Chief of Ops in Mozambique in 1994, Planning Coordinator in Liberia 2004-05 and Police Commissioner in Darfur, Sudan in 2011-14, shared his mission experiences with the audience and urged the young peacekeepers to work enthusiastically and continuously under the flag of United Nations for the ideals of peace, stability and cooperation espoused by the Blue Helmets.
The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks from/ to the organisers/ participants and media.
The participants observed “a minute of silence” in the memory of fallen peacekeepers who laid supreme sacrifice of their lives in the line of duty.
