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UN to honour 3 Pakistanis posthumously on Int’l Day of U.N. Peacekeepers
UNITED NATIONS, May 27 (APP): Three Pakistan Army personnel are among the 132 United Nations peacekeepers from around the world who will be honoured posthumously on Friday at a special ceremony marking the International Day of U.N. Peacekeepers.
Dag Hammarskold medals will be awarded to Major Ahmar Raza, who lost his life serving the United Nations Operation in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI);
Havildar Sher Afzal Khan from the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC);
and Naik Syed Abdul Qadir Shah from the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will speak at the start of the ceremony. The medals will be received by representatives of the respective Permanent Missions to be forwarded on to the next of kin.
Pakistan is the largest contributor of military and police personnel to the United Nations with more than 10,600 peacekeepers serving around the world in Burundi, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Georgia, Haiti, Kosovo, Liberia, Sudan, Timor-Leste and the Western Sahara.
Bangladesh, with 9,220 peacekeepers, is the second highest contributor, followed by India (8,617), Nigeria (5,792) and Nepal (3,856).
Not only at U.N. Headquarters in New York, the day will also be observed at peacekeeping missions and offices around the world, with a special focus on women peacekeepers, as the United Nations tries to move towards gender equity in its ranks.
This year’s commemorative ceremonies come at a time when the services of United Nations peacekeepers are in greater demand than ever, officials said.
There are currently more than 113,000 peacekeepers, including 90,000 military and police personnel from 117 countries, serving in 18 operations on four continents.
The Secretary-General is also expected to oversee a solemn wreath-laying ceremony in honour of the 132 peacekeeping personnel, 10 of them women, who lost their lives - whether through attacks, illnesses or accidents - in 2008 in the service of peace.
In a separate ceremony, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy will award medals at Headquarters to the military and police officers currently serving in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations.
Source: APPAPP
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Accd. to Islam "If any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people." (Al-Ma'idah 5:32)
May Allah bless them all.......ameen.