Terming Ambassador Munir Akram, who is leaving his job at the end of this month, as a “distinctive figure in multilateral diplomacy,” the Pakistan Mission to the United Nations (UN) held a reception on Saturday, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported. Then in September 2019 pinnacle minister Imran Khan modified Dr Maleeha Lodhi with Ambassador Akram as Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations headquarters in New York. Permanent Representative Designate Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad will take his post. Previously serving Pakistan as its permanent UN envoy, Akram had spent six years between 2002 and 2008. “In his remarks, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad paid top notch respect to his predecessor, acknowledging his a few years of ‘exceptional service’ to Pakistan,” APP stated. App said Ambassador Akram end up a “mentor, a superb strategist, and a outstanding discern in multilateral global members of the family one which has served Pakistan with incredible distinction and unwavering dedication. Ambassador Ahmad further remarked that generations of Pakistani diplomats would be inspired going forward by Ambassador Akram’s outstanding public service legacy. Ambassador Munir Akram, on his side, described his path as “long and challenging, yet deeply rewarding,” the newspaper said. On behalf of the whole Mission, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative-designate to the UN, gifts Ambassador Munir Akram a gesture of thanks at the ceremony on March 23. — X/Pakistan UN_NY Attending the ceremony were officials of the Mission and their families, staff members, Consul General of Pakistan in New York Aamer Ahmed Atozai, Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Usman Jadoon, and the wife of Ambassador Akram. Ambassador Ahmad underlined the critical part the Pakistan Foreign Service plays in defending national interests of the nation in a global scene getting more complicated. Speaking to the officials, he offered advice on improving their professional ability to handle newly arising difficulties. Additionally shown was a film package honoring Ambassador Akram’s efforts and influence on Pakistan’s diplomatic community including comments from officials of the Pakistan Mission and ambassadors of other embassies. Before Israel outlawed UNRWA operations, Pakistan, represented by Ambassador Akram, had earlier in the year cautioned that the action would compromise the peace in the enclave and destroy humanitarian efforts in Gaza devastated by violence. Ambassador Akram had told the UN Security Council meeting, “Israel has no right as the occupying power to close down any UN facility, in particular UNRWA office, in East Jerusalem or any other UN international facility established in the Occupied Palestinian Territory under the mandate of the United Nations,” expressing “unwavering support” to the agency.
