ISLAMABAD: Pakistan urged the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) to expand its activities to places like Afghanistan and Indian-administered Kashmir during a debate at the General Assembly, reported the state-owned Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency on Tuesday.
The PBC was established in 2005 to promote peacebuilding efforts in countries emerging from conflict or facing challenges related to peace and stability. It also tries to bridge the gap between the immediate post-conflict response, carried out by peacekeeping operations and humanitarian agencies, and the longer-term development efforts of the UN’s development agencies.
Pakistan’s permanent representative to the world body, Ambassador Munir Akram, described peacebuilding as “a growth industry” during the debate, saying the PBC only had half of the financial resources that it required.
“The PBC’s coverage is not universal,” he said. “Significant situations such as in Afghanistan and in Jammu and Kashmir are not among those addressed by the Peacebuilding Commission.”
Afghanistan emerged out of prolonged conflict that began in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States and ended when the international forces pulled out of that country in August 2021.
Ever since the war-ravaged state has faced an acute shortage of resources to manage its economy or feed its people.
Pakistan has repeatedly urged the international community to adopt a policy of constructive engagement with the Taliban administration in Kabul without compromising on the human rights situation in that country.
Officials in Islamabad have also raised alarm over the situation in Indian-administered Kashmir after New Delhi decided to revoke the special constitutional status of the only Muslim-majority state under its rule to integrate it with the rest of the Indian union.
Pakistan has frequently criticized its neighboring state and nuclear arch-rival for adopting “oppressive policies” toward the Kashmiri people and altering the demographic situation in the territory through the settlement of Hindus.
Ambassador Akram said the PBC should get bottom-up information and analysis from the government, from its resident coordinators, and other stakeholders on country-specific situations.
