Pakistan and the United Nations Current Affairs Notes

Pakistan and the United Nations

Pakistan officially joined the United Nations (UN) on 30 September 1947 just over a month after its independence from the British Empire. Today, it is a charter member and participates in all of the UN's specialised agencies and organisations. Pakistan has been elected a number of times into the UN Security Council. It is also one of the countries which has had a diplomat, Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, serve a term as the President of the United Nations General Assembly.
Representation:
Pakistan maintains a permanent mission to the UN, which is currently headed by Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon in New York. There is a second mission based at the UNO office in Geneva, Switzerland. The Mission is usually headed by a career Foreign service officer, but has historically been led by an eminent personalities from business, media, law and other areas and are usually political appointees.
Pakistan’s Role in Peace keeping Missions:
Peacekeeping, as defined by the United Nations, is a way to help countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace. UN peacekeepers—soldiers and military officers, civilian police officers and civilian personnel from many countries—monitor and observe peace processes that emerge in post-conflict situations and assist ex-combatants in implementing the peace agreements they have signed. Such assistance comes in many forms, including confidence-building measures, power-sharing arrangements, electoral support, strengthening the rule of law, and economic and social development. 
The United Nations was established to bring peace to the war torn world. Today, peace keeping is one of the biggest and important tasks of the United Nations. In disturbed, post conflict, and war torn areas, the UN sends military and civilian personnel to monitor and observe peace processes and oversee the implementation of any agreements.
Pakistan became a UN member on 30 September, 1947 and since then Pakistan has always provided large scale assistance to the UN peace keeping missions. Pakistan is one of the top contributors of military personnel for the peace keeping missions of UN. The first Pakistani military contingent went to Congo for a peace keeping mission in 1960. The following is the list, consisting some of the important peace keeping missions, performed by Pakistan Armed Forces.

1960-1964 : United Nation’s mission in Congo
1962-1963 : Part of United Nation’s security force in New Guinea
1991-2003 : United Nation’s peace keeping mission in Iraq and Kuwait
1992-1995 : UN mission in Cambodia
1992-1996 : Part of United Nation Protection Forces in Bosnia
1995-1998 : In Haiti
Sierra Leone, Brundi, Congo and many more international conflicts have witnessed the presence of Pakistani troops in maintaining peace through the United Nations. Pakistani troops have on many occasions shown bravery and sacrifice and earned respect through their valor, courage and great service to the humanity. On average, at one time, more than ten thousand Pakistani troops perform UN duty all around the globe. Until now, close to 100 Pakistanis have given their lives while performing peace keeping duties.
Pakistan has always contributed whole heartedly whenever deputed with peace keeping missions by the United Nations. However, during the gulf war, Pakistan refused to be part of the UN peace force due to sensitivities of the conflict and expected negative reaction by the Pakistani population. Barring such examples, Pakistan has always been in the forefront in the community of nations, to achieve peace in the world. As of present, Pakistan stands as the largest contributor of troops to United Nations peacekeeping missions in the world. 
Politics
Ø Kashmir conflict
The UN continues to remain a keen observer of the Kashmir conflict between Pakistan and India, centring around the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir. Since the transfer of power to both countries in 1947 of the divided territory, the UN has played an extensive role in regulating and monitoring the dispute.
The current agitation in Indian-Held Kashmir is rooted in the struggle of the people for the exercise of the right of self-determination. Peaceful processions chanting demands for freedom were fired upon by Indian Army and police. Thousands of men, women and children have been killed or wounded. New Delhi's allegation of assistance to the Kashmiri people from the Pakistan side is unfounded. Objective reports in foreign media testify that the Kashmiri agitation is indigenous. 
Pakistan upholds the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to self-determination in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. These resolutions of 1948 and 1949 provide for the holding of a free and impartial plebiscite for the determination of the future of the state by the people of Jammu and Kashmir. 
3. The basic points about the UN resolution are that: 
• The complaint relating to Kashmir was initiated by India in the Security Council; 
• The Council explicitly and by implications, rejected India's claim that Kashmir is legally Indian territory; 
• The resolutions established self-determination as the governing principal for the settlement of the Kashmir dispute. This is the world body's commitment to the people of Kashmir; 
• The resolutions endorsed a binding agreement between India and Pakistan reached through the mediation of UNCIP, that a plebiscite would be held, under agreed and specified conditions. 
The Security Council has rejected the Indian contention that the people of Kashmir have exercised their right of self-determination by participating in the "election" which India has from time to time organized in the Held Kashmir. The 0.2% turn out during the 1989 "elections" was the most recent clear repudiation of the Indian claim. Pakistan continues to adhere to the UN resolutions. These are binding also on India. The Simla Agreement of 2 July 1972, to which Pakistan also continues to adhere, did not alter the status of Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory.
Ø United Nations Good Offices Mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan (UNGOMAP)
United Nations Good Offices Mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan (UNGOMAP) was established in May 1988, during the Soviet war in Afghanistan, to assist in ensuring the implementation of the agreements on the settlement of the situation relating to Afghanistan and investigate and report possible violations of any of the provisions of the agreements. The United Nations Security Council confirmed its establishment in Resolution 622 (1988). By 15 August 1988, the Soviet military withdrew nearly 50 percent of its troops (some 50,000 men) from Afghanistan, evacuating 10 main garrisons and handing them over to the Afghan armed forces. Another 8 garrisons remained under Soviet control until the end of the pullout on 15 February 1989.
UNGOMAP made every effort to investigate complaints lodged by the two parties. However, a number of difficulties hampered the effectiveness of the work of the Mission's inspection teams. These included the rough nature of the terrain, the time which lapsed before many of the alleged incidents were reported, and the security conditions prevailing in the area of operation.
UNGOMAP also maintained close cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In particular, it was ready to monitor the situation inside Afghanistan and inform UNHCR of the safety conditions necessary for the return and resettlement of refugees. Up to 5 million refugees were estimated to be living in Pakistan and Iran. However, because the fighting in Afghanistan continued, conditions remained unstable and only a limited number of refugees returned to Afghanistan. UNGOMAP's mandate formally ended on 15 March 1990.
UN Security Council resolutions concerning Pakistan
• United Nations Security Council Resolution 29
• United Nations Security Council Resolution 622
• United Nations Security Council Resolution 647
• United Nations Security Council Resolution 1172
è United Nations Security Council Resolution 29, adopted unanimously on August 12, 1947, upon having reviewed and in some cases, re-reviewed applications for membership in the United Nations by Albania, Mongolia, Transjordan, Ireland, Portugal, Hungary, Italy, Roumania, Austria, Yemen, Bulgaria and Pakistan. The Council recommended that the General Assembly admit Yemen and Pakistan.
è United Nations Security Council resolution 622, adopted unanimously on 20 September 1988, after noting the Geneva Accords agreement signed on 14 April 1988, the Council confirmed the agreement to the measures in the letters of the Secretary-General concerning the settlement of the situation in Afghanistan. The Council therefore confirmed the establishment of the United Nations Good Offices Mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan in May 1988 and made provisions for a temporary dispatch of 50 military officers to assist in the mission as requested by the Secretary-General. It also required the Secretary-General to keep the Council updated on progress in the region.
è United Nations Security Council resolution 647, adopted unanimously on 11 January 1990, after recalling Resolution 622 (1988) and a letter by the Secretary-General concerning the settlement of the situation in Afghanistan, the Council endorsed the letter's proposals regarding the United Nations Good Offices Mission in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Council then extended the mandate of the Mission for two months, until 15 March 1990.
è United Nations Security Council resolution 1172, adopted unanimously on 6 June 1998, after hearing of nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan in May 1998, the Council condemned the tests and demanded that both countries refrain from engaging in further tests. 
United Nations & Pakistan:
• In 1954 Mr. Zafarullah represented Pakistan at the Security Council UNO and fairly advocated the cases of liberation of Kashmir, Libya, North Ireland, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco and Indonesia, Malaya, Nigeria and Algeria.
• Zafarullah skillfully concentrated his focus upon freedom, strength, prosperity and unity of the Muslim world. The same year he was elected as the member of
• International Court of Justice and served in this capacity till 1961. 
• Pakistan’s earlier terms on the Council were in 2003-04, 1993-94, 1983-84, 1976-77, 1968-69 and 1952-53.
• Recently Pakistan elected as the temporary United Nations Security Council seat for a term that was started on January 2012 and will end in December 2013. 
• Pakistan’s election to the Security Council is the acknowledgement by the international community of its services and its capabilities to contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security which is the main function of the Security Council.
• The United Nations has conferred the Prestigious United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights for 2008 on Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed. 
• In 2008 some 867 Pakistani soldiers serving with the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been decorated with UN peacekeeping medals. 

The United Nations programmes in Pakistan support national efforts to end poverty, address socio-economic challenges and achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Promotion of 

human rights and equality cuts across all UN program mes. The UN works closely with the 

Government, civil society organizations and humanitarian partners on the ground to help save lives affected by natural disasters, to assist those men, women, boys and girls displaced, and to equip and empower them to prepare for future calamities, including support to Afghan refugees. All UN work from relief to recovery and development is done alongside the people of Pakistan. National organizations, both governmental and non governmental, implement many UN supported programmes, with strong ownership of the Pakistani people.
The UN and its humanitarian partners have distributed nearly 321,000 tents and tarpaulins and approximately 300,000 sets of household goods to flood affected people. More than 1.2 million people have received medicines and medical care, and 1 million people have received 

food. The UN also provided close to 600,000 people with access to safe drinking water.

IMPORTANT MCQS OF PAKISTAN STUDIES
General Knowledge Online Test

[Continue reading...]

Recipients of Nishan-e-Haider

Recipients of Nishan-e-Haider
For ISSB Preparation

Name	Unit	Conflict	Date	Place of Death
Captain Muhammad Sarwar	2nd Battalion of the Punjab Regiment	War of 1947	27 July 1948	Uri, Kashmir
Major Tufail Mohammad	16th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment	1958 Border clash with India	7 August 1958	Lakshmipur District
Major Aziz Bhatti	17th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment	War of 1965	10 September 1965	Lahore District
Major Mohammad Akram	4th Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment	War of 1971	1971	East Pakistan
Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas Shaheed	No. 2 Squadron Minhas	War of 1971	20 August 1971	Thatta, Sindh, West Pakistan
Major Shabbir Sharif	6th Battalion of the Frontier Force Regiment	War of 1971	6 December 1971	Kargil, Indian Occupied Kashmir
Lance Naik Muhammad Mahfuz	15th Battalion of the Punjab Regiment	War of 1971	8 December 1971	Wagah-Attari
Sawar Muhammad Hussain	20th Lancers, Armoured Corps	War of 1971	10 December 1971	Zafarwal-Shakargarh
Captain Karnal Sher Khan	12th Battalion of the Northern Light Infantry	Kargil War	5 July 1999	Kargil, Indian Occupied Kashmir
Havaldar Lalak Jan	12th Battalion of the Northern Light Infantry	Kargil War	7 July 1999	Kargil, Indian Occupied Kashmir

ISSB Preparation of Islamiyat 

I.Q Test

LIST OF CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF 1947 TO PRESENT

[Continue reading...]

Current Affair Notes On Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) For CSS SPCS FPCS PPCS KPPCS

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

ESTABLISHMENT

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Brunei Darussalam then joined on 7 January 1984, Viet Nam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999, making up what is today the ten Member States of ASEAN.
ASEAN covers an area of 4.46 million km², 3% of the total land area of Earth, with a population of approximately 600 million people, 8.8% of the world population. In 2010, its combined nominal GDP had grown to US$1.8 trillion. If ASEAN was a single entity, it would rank as the ninth largest economy in the world.

AIMS AND PURPOSES

As set out in the ASEAN Declaration, the aims and purposes of ASEAN are:
1. To accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavours in the spirit of equality and partnership in order to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian Nations;
2. To promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries of the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter;
3. To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in the economic, social, cultural, technical, scientific and administrative fields;
4. To provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities in the educational, professional, technical and administrative spheres;
5. To collaborate more effectively for the greater utilisation of their agriculture and industries, the expansion of their trade, including the study of the problems of international commodity trade, the improvement of their transportation and communications facilities and the raising of the living standards of their peoples;
6. To promote Southeast Asian studies; and
7. To maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes, and explore all avenues for even closer cooperation among themselves.

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

In their relations with one another, the ASEAN Member States have adopted the following fundamental principles, as contained in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) of 1976:
1. Mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, and national identity of all nations;
2. The right of every State to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion or coercion; 
3. Non-interference in the internal affairs of one another; 
4. Settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful manner; 
5. Renunciation of the threat or use of force; and 
6. Effective cooperation among themselves.

ASEAN COMMUNITY

The ASEAN Vision 2020, adopted by the ASEAN Leaders on the 30th Anniversary of ASEAN, agreed on a shared vision of ASEAN as a concert of Southeast Asian nations, outward looking, living in peace, stability and prosperity, bonded together in partnership in dynamic development and in a community of caring societies.
At the 9th ASEAN Summit in 2003, the ASEAN Leaders resolved that an ASEAN Community shall be established.
At the 12th ASEAN Summit in January 2007, the Leaders affirmed their strong commitment to accelerate the establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015 and signed the Cebu Declaration on the Acceleration of the Establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015.
The ASEAN Community is comprised of three pillars, namely the ASEAN Political-Security Community, ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community. Each pillar has its own Blueprint, and, together with the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Strategic Framework and IAI Work Plan Phase II (2009-2015), they form the Roadmap for and ASEAN Community 2009-2015.

ASEAN CHARTER

The ASEAN Charter serves as a firm foundation in achieving the ASEAN Community by providing legal status and institutional framework for ASEAN. It also codifies ASEAN norms, rules and values; sets clear targets for ASEAN; and presents accountability and compliance.
The ASEAN Charter entered into force on 15 December 2008. A gathering of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers was held at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta to mark this very historic occasion for ASEAN.
With the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter, ASEAN will henceforth operate under a new legal framework and establish a number of new organs to boost its community-building process. 
In effect, the ASEAN Charter has become a legally binding agreement among the 10 ASEAN Member States.

Enlargement of ASEAN:-

During the 1990s, the bloc experienced an increase in both membership and drive for further integration. In 1990, Malaysia proposed the creation of an East Asia Economic Caucus comprising the then members of ASEAN as well as the People's Republic of China, Japan, and South Korea, with the intention of counterbalancing the growing influence of the United States in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and in the Asian region as a whole. This proposal failed, however, because of heavy opposition from the United States and Japan. Despite this failure, member states continued to work for further integration and ASEAN Plus Three was created in 1997.
In 1992, the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme was signed as a schedule for phasing tariffs and as a goal to increase the region’s competitive advantage as a production base geared for the world market. This law would act as the framework for the ASEAN Free Trade Area. After the East Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, a revival of the Malaysian proposal was established in Chiang Mai, known as the Chiang Mai Initiative, which calls for better integration between the economies of ASEAN as well as the ASEAN Plus Three countries (China, Japan, and South Korea).
Aside from improving each member state's economies, the bloc also focused on peace and stability in the region. On 15 December 1995, the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty was signed with the intention of turning Southeast Asia into a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone. The treaty took effect on 28 March 1997 after all but one of the member states have ratified it. It became fully effective on 21 June 2001, after the Philippines ratified it, effectively banning all nuclear weapons in the region.
Early 2011, East Timor plans to submit a letter of application to the ASEAN Secretariat in Indonesia to be the eleventh member of ASEAN at the summit in Jakarta. Indonesia has shown a warm welcome to East Timor.

[Continue reading...]

Current Affairs MCQs Foreign Ministers of Pakistan List up to date

Current Affairs MCQs 

Foreign Ministers of Pakistan

Foreign Ministers of Pakistan List Where We Put the Names of Foreign Ministers of Pakistan up to now

Current Affairs
List of Foreign Ministers

S. No	Name	Take Charge	Leave Charge
1	Sir Mohammad Zafarullah Khan	27-12- 1947	31-10-1954
2	Muhammad Ali Bogra	24-10-1954	11-08-1955
3	Hamidul Haq Chowdhry	28-09-1955	12-09-1956
4	Malik Feroz Khan Noon	14-09-1956	16-12-1957
5	Manzoor Qadir	29-10-1958	08-06-1962
6	Muhammad Ali Bogra	13-06-1962	23-01-1963
7	Zulfikar Ali Bhutto	24-01-1963	31-08-1966
8	Sharifuddin Pirzada	20-07-1966	25-04-1968
9	Mian Arshad Hussain	25-04-1968	04-04-1969
10	General Yahya Khan	05-04-1969	20-12-1971
11	Zulfikar Ali Bhutto	20-12-1971	28-03-1977
12	Aziz Ahmed	30-03-1977	05-07-1977
13	Agha Shahi	14-01-1978	09-03-1982
14	Sahabzada Yaqub Khan	21-03-1982	01-11-1987
15	Sahabzada Yaqub Khan	09-06-1988	20-03-1991
16	Abdul Sattar	23-07-1993	19-10-1993
17	Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari	19-10-1993	14-11-1993
18	Aseef Ahmad Ali	16-11-1993	04-11-1996
19	Sahabzada Yaqub Khan (Caretaker)	11-11-1996	24-02-1997
20	Gohar Ayub	25-02-1997	07-08-1998
21	Sartaj Aziz	07-08-1998	12-10-1999
22	Abdul Sattar	23-07-1999	14-06-2002
23	Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri	23-11-2002	15-11-2007
24	Inam-ul-Haq (Caretaker)	15-11-2007	24-03-2008
25	Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi	31-03-2008	09-02-2011
26	Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar	19-07-2011	16-03-2013

Current Affairs MCQs Foreign Ministers of Pakistan List up to date
Stay here and get free 

Sindh Public Commission Services hyderabad Past Paper ( SPCS )Punjab Public Commission Services ( PPCS ) Past papersFederal Public Commission Service ( FPCS ) Past papers
CSS Past Papers
CSS Essay
Basic English Grammar Test
Pshycology
Maths for ECAT
Biology for MCAT
ISSB Prep
GAT NTS Quiz

[Continue reading...]