Thu, September 17, 2026
New York (Web Desk): Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nation (UN), Asim Iftikhar Ahmad on Monday held an interactive session with a group of 20 students from Manhattan University, where he outlined Pakistan’s perspective on important regional and global developments, while also explaining the country’s engagement at the UN.
The Pakistani envoy described the UN as a uniquely credible and widely trusted institution, noting that despite its limitations, it remains irreplaceable.
He pointed out that it is the only platform where nations come together to address issues that cannot be handled by any single country on its own.
Asim Iftikhar explained that the UN continues to play a central role in organizing international efforts to deal with both emerging and long-term challenges, including artificial intelligence, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the far-reaching effects of climate change.
Stressing the importance of collective action, he told the students that in today’s fast-evolving global landscape, cooperation among nations has become more crucial than ever.
Many UN member states, he added, see joint responses as the most practical way to tackle shared problems.
Speaking about reform within the UN, Ambassador Ahmad said the objective is to make the institution more effective and better aligned with current global realities.
On the issue of changes to the United Nations Security Council, he made it clear that Pakistan does not support increasing the number of permanent members in the 15-nation body.
According to him, expanding permanent seats would not address existing inequalities and could instead deepen divisions, making the Council less functional.
He reiterated that Pakistan backs an increase in non-permanent seats, a position championed by the Uniting for Consensus alliance.
The discussion also touched on a wide range of global concerns, including maritime safety, food shortages, migration pressures, water scarcity, refugee issues, and the need for cooperation in managing shared water resources.
The ambassador emphasized that tackling such cross-border challenges requires effective multilateral coordination, along with solutions that are sustainable and informed by local contexts.
He also described the upcoming selection of the next UN Secretary-General as a decisive moment for the organization’s future.
Earlier in the session, Saima Saleem, a counsellor at Pakistan’s mission to the UN, briefed the students on the country’s work at the global body, including its contributions to peacekeeping missions across different regions.
The interaction concluded with a question-and-answer session.
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