Membership Full member UNSC seat Non-permanent | Since 30 September 1947 Ambassador Maliha Lodhi | |
Pakistan officially joined the United Nations (UN) on 30 September 1947 just over a month after its independence from the British Empire. Today, it is a charter member and participates in all of the UN's specialised agencies and organisations. Pakistan has been elected seven times (tied with Colombia and India) into the UN Security Council, with the most recent term in 2013. It is also one of the countries which has had a diplomat, Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, serve a term as the President of the United Nations General Assembly.
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Representation
Pakistan maintains a permanent mission to the UN, which is currently headed by Ambassador Maliha Lodhi in New York. There is a second mission based at the UNO office in Geneva, Switzerland.
Peacekeeping
The Pakistani military has played a key role in the UN's peacekeeping programme in different parts of the world, most prominently in Somalia, Sierra Leone, Bosnia, Congo and Liberia. As of 2009, Pakistan stood as the largest contributor of troops to United Nations peacekeeping missions in the world, and was followed by Bangladesh and India.
Pakistan's Mission
The international community considers The state of Jammu and Kashmir divided into three parts occupied by India, Pakistan and a part by China. The fact is that all the principles on the basis of which the Indian subcontinent was partitioned by the British in 1947 stated that all the former Princely States had a choice of either joining India or Pakistan.
The Maharaja initially fought back but appealed for assistance to the Governor-General Louis Mountbatten, who agreed on the condition that the ruler accede to India. Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession on 26 October 1947, which was accepted by the Governor General of India the next day. Once the Instrument of Accession was signed, Indian soldiers entered Kashmir with orders to evict the raiders. India took the matter to the United Nations. The UN resolution asked Pakistan to pull it's Army out from Kashmir but allowed India to leave only the minimum number of troops needed to keep civil order so that a referendum can be held under UN observation. After the required withdrawal did not occur for several years Jammu & Kashmir National Conference which was the largest political party in the state recommended convening the constituent assembly in a resolution passed on 27 October 1950.[7] On 1 May 1951 Karan Singh then Head of state of Jammu and Kashmir issued a proclamation directing the formation of this assembly. The assembly was to be constituted of elected representatives of the people of the state. For purposes of this election the state was divided into constituencies containing population of 40,000 or as near thereto as possible and each electing one member.[8] The United Nations Security Council stated in its resolution 91 dated 30 March 1951 that it would not consider elections held only in Indian administered Kashmir to be a substitute for a free and impartial plebiscite including the people of the entire state Jammu and Kashmir.[7]
Polls were conducted in Indian administered Kashmir in August–September 1951. There were no women registered as voters in 1951 Jammu and Kashmir elections. But there was one woman who contested who lost her deposit.[9] Jammu & Kashmir National Conference won 75 seats under the leadership of Sheikh Abdullah.[10][11] On 31 October 1951 he addressed the assembly for the first time and called on it to frame the states constitution and to give a 'reasoned conclusion regarding accession'. On 15 February 1954 the assembly members who were present cast a unanimous vote ratifying the state's accession to India.[13][14] Constitution was drafted which came into force on 26 January 1957. Part II, section (3) of the constitution states 'The State of Jammu and Kashmir is and shall be an integral part of the Union of India'.In 1956 the Constituent Assembly finalised its constitution, which declared the whole of the former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir to be 'an integral part of the Union of India'. Elections were held the next year for a Legislative Assembly. This section cannot be legally amended as per provisions of Part XII of the constitution. The United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) was deployed to supervise the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. UNMOGIP's functions were to investigate complaints of ceasefire violations and submit findings to each party and to the U.N. Secretary-General.
Kashmir conflict
The UN continues to remain a keen observer of the Kashmir conflict between Pakistan and India, centring on the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir. Since the transfer of power to both countries in 1947 of the divided territory, the UN has played an extensive role in regulating and monitoring the dispute.