Pakistan committed to fundamental principles of UN Charter

Islamabad: Pakistan is committed to the fundamental principles of the UN Charter: self-determination of peoples, non-use or threat of use of force, sovereignty and territorial integrity of States, and pacific settlement of disputes.

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Munir Akram said equally, Pakistan upholds the principle of equal and indivisible security for all. These principles must be consistently and universally respected.

Pakistan remains deeply concerned at the recent turn of events. This reflects a failure of diplomacy.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had regretted the latest situation between Russia and Ukraine, and said Pakistan had hoped that diplomacy could avert military conflict.

“We have since repeatedly stressed the need for de-escalation, renewed negotiations, sustained dialogue, and continuous diplomacy. All efforts must be made to avoid further escalation of violence and loss of life as well as military, political and economic tensions which can pose an unprecedented threat to international peace and security and global economic stability. As consistently underlined by Prime Minister Imran Khan, the developing countries are hit the hardest economically by conflict anywhere,” he said.

Akram said: “We hope the talks initiated between representatives of the Russian Federation and Ukraine will succeed in bringing about a cessation of hostilities and normalization of the situation. A diplomatic solution in accordance with relevant multilateral agreements, international law, and provisions of the UN Charter is indispensable.”

He said Pakistan also supports all efforts to provide humanitarian relief to civilians in the affected areas.

He said the government is most concerned about the safety and welfare of Pakistani citizens and students in Ukraine. “The majority of them have been evacuated. The few who remain will be evacuated soonest. We appreciate the cooperation of the Ukrainian authorities as well as the Polish, Romanian and Hungarian governments in this context,” he added.