UN council seat: Islamabad in bid to get Kyrgyzstan to drop out of race

During visit to Bishkek, Khar to offer ‘token of goodwill’ in exchange.

ISLAMABAD: In a last-ditch effort to convince Kyrgyzstan to withdraw its bid for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council in favour of Pakistan, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar will travel to Kyrgyz capital Bishkek today (Tuesday).

Khar, acting as a special envoy to the prime minister, is to meet President Roza Otunbayeva and return to Islamabad the same day, officials told The Express Tribune.

Even though Pakistan is confident of winning the seat, Kyrgyzstan has not yet dropped out of the race – ignoring repeated requests to do so in favour of Pakistan, a Foreign Office source said.

Earlier this year Kyrgyzstan rebuffed a plea by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani for it to renounce its candidature, arguing that playing a role in world diplomacy was a priority for a fledgling democracy.

Islamabad is willing to offer Kyrgyzstan a token of goodwill if it agrees to withdraw its bid for a seat, the official said.

Meanwhile Pakistan expects India to vote against Kyrgyzstan for the 2012-2013 seat, for which elections are scheduled on October 21. Pakistan had voted for India for the same seat during the 2010-2011 elections as part of a mutual understanding reached between the two countries.

The presence of Indian Minister for External Affairs S M Krishna, along with his delegation, at a reception hosted by Khar in New York last month was taken as a goodwill gesture by Islamabad on Delhi’s part.

Keeping in view US and Nato troops withdrawal from Afghanistan due to take place from 2012 to 2014, it is essential for Pakistan to win the Asian seat of the Security Council, a foreign office official said. It is also essential for Pakistan to secure a UN Security Council office to counter the global hostile environment in the context of the fight against terrorism, he added.

The foreign minister, during her visit to the 66th United Nations General Assembly session, made hectic efforts to win US backing but officials in the foreign office are pessimistic about Washington’s support.

“The five permanent members of the Security Council will not openly support any of the candidates till the last minute,” another official in the foreign office said.

Former Pakistani diplomat Munir Akram is of the view that Kyrgyzstan was in fact sponsored by the United States against Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 18^th, 2011.