UN posthumously acknowledges sacrifices of seven martyred Pakistani peacekeepers
June 02, 2018
NEW YORK/RAWALPINDI: United Nations, while commemorating International UN Peacekeepers Day, Friday posthumously acknowledged sacrifices of seven martyred Pakistani peacekeepers among others, who laid their lives while ensuring peace around the world.
Commemorating the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers at the UN Headquarters in New York, Secretary-General António Guterres paid tribute to the service and sacrifice made by UN "blue helmets" for the cause of world peace.
"These peacekeepers gave their lives to protect the lives of others. We are forever in their debt, and they are always in our hearts," said Guterres at a wreath-laying ceremony at the UN Headquarters.
More than 3,700 military, police and civilians, who chose to serve, have lost their lives, since the first peacekeeping mission deployed 70 years ago, the world body said in a statement on its website.
Last year saw the highest number of fatalities – 132 individuals from 37 countries – for UN peacekeepers as a result of malicious acts; the highest in many years.
Dag Hammarskjöld Medal ceremony
The UN awarded the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal to military, police and civilian personnel who lost their lives while serving under the UN flag.
The medal is named after Dag Hammarskjöld, the second UN secretary-general, who along with his entourage died in a plane crash in what is now Zambia in 1961.
At the ceremony, the secretary-general spoke of the increasingly complex challenges facing peacekeepers on the ground, and that despite the overwhelming difficulties, civilian and uniformed UN personnel who had made the ultimate sacrifice – collectively and individually – had a "profound impact on the communities they served."
"Most were deployed far from home, while others served in their own conflict-affected countries as national staff. Every one of them made our world a better place," Guterres said.
Pakistan is a peace loving country: COAS Bajwa
DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor said on Twitter that the world body acknowledged sacrifices of seven martyred Pakistani peacekeepers by posthumously awarding them Dag Hammarskjöld medals.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, in his message on the occasion, said, "Pakistan is a peace loving country contributing to global peace efforts."
The seven martyred Pakistani peacekeepers included Naik Qaiser Abbas, MINUSCA (Central African Republic); Sepoy Yasir Abbas UNAMID (Darfur); Sepoy Muhammad Ishtiaq Abbasi, MONUSCO (Democratic Republic of Congo); Havildar Zishan Ahmed, MONUSCO (Democratic Republic Of Congo); Sepoy Hazrat Bilal, MINUSCA (Central African Republic); Naik Abdul Ghafoor, MINUSCA (Central African Republic), and Naik Atta Ur Rehman, MONUSCO (Democratic Republic Of Congo).
Pakistan has been one of the largest troop-contributing countries for the United Nations peacekeeping missions across the globe. So far, 156 Pakistani blue helmets have embraced martyrdom while serving under the UN umbrella.
