Islamabad, Jan 1 (IANS) Pakistan is set to begin a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.
Pakistan was elected to the 15-nation Security Council in October 2011 with 129 out of 193 members of the UN General Assembly voting for it. It will assume the seat Sunday (New York time).
Kyrgyzstan, which had challenged Pakistan, was far behind with 55 votes, Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN, Abdullah Hussain Haroon, who spearheaded the campaign, has said Islamabad would play a constructive role in resolving key global issues that the Security Council was dealing with or may come up.
Pakistan, he said, was committed to multi-lateralism and promoting the principles and purposes enshrined in the UN Charter.
The Security Council has five permanent members — Britain, China, France, Russia and the US — and 10 non-permanent members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms from five different regions of the world.
Pakistan will replace Lebanon, which completes its two-year term from the Asian seat.
Pakistan has previously served in the Security Council in 1952-53, 1968-69, 1976-77, 1983-84, 1993-94 and 2003-04.
It will be the fourth time Pakistan’s term will overlap with India, as it did in 1968, 1977 and 1984.
Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco and Togo were also elected to serve as non-permanent members.
