UN gives posthumous awards to 5 Pakistani peacekeepers

The United Nations on Friday awarded posthumous awards to five Pakistani peacekeepers who laid down their lives while serving the cause of peace around the world in 2014.

The Dag Hammarskjold award for our five servicemen who lost their lives to save other people's lives pic.twitter.com/fy4RFfoBUK

— Maleeha Lodhi (@LodhiMaleeha) May 29, 2015

The UN Secretary General thanking Pakistan for its contribution to UN peacekeeping pic.twitter.com/ee5FNiAVPu

— Maleeha Lodhi (@LodhiMaleeha) May 29, 2015

A moment of silence for our brave peace keepers pic.twitter.com/f84TZntR4K

— Maleeha Lodhi (@LodhiMaleeha) May 29, 2015

The ceremony marked the annual International Day of UN Peacekeepers, where commemorative activities were held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, and at peacekeeping operations and offices around the world.

Accepting the award for the 5 Pakistani peacekeepers who lost their lives. May Allah grant them a place in Jannat pic.twitter.com/HkOifsGVRW

— Maleeha Lodhi (@LodhiMaleeha) May 29, 2015

Read: UN to give posthumous awards to 5 Pakistani peacekeepers

Observing a moment of silence for the 126 #peacekeepers killed in the cause of peace in 2014 #PKday #Together4Peace pic.twitter.com/DJtZtviNn4

— UN Peacekeeping (@UNPeacekeeping) May 29, 2015

Currently, 125,000 UN peacekeepers, including 91,000 military personnel, 13,000 police officers as well as 17,000 international civilian and national staff are serving in 16 operations on four continents.

Pakistan is the second largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping mission with 8,163 personnel including 7,581 troops, 487 police officials and 95 military experts serving in the UN operations in the Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Liberia, Sudan and Western Sahara

Read: International efforts: UN Peacekeeping course begins at NUST

The five Pakistanis who got the award today pic.twitter.com/1TpOqpkDVg

— Maleeha Lodhi (@LodhiMaleeha) May 29, 2015

The fallen Pakistani soldiers include Naib Subedar Saleem, Akhter and Lance Naik Ibrar Mehmood, who served with the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), Sepoy Nazar Abbas and Lance Havildar Ghulam Nabi, who served with the United Nations Misson in  Liberia (UNMIL) and  Sepoy Fahad Iftikhar, who was deployed with the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

Pakistan has lost the third most soldiers in UN peacekeeping operations, with 137 soldiers killed. India tops the list with 159 while Nigeria is second with 145.

The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers was established by the General Assembly in 2002, in tribute to men and women serving in peacekeeping operations for their professionalism, dedication and courage, and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.

The UN General Assembly then dedicated May 29 to peacekeepers because it was the date in 1948 when the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO), the world body’s first peacekeeping mission, began operations in Palestine.

This year’s International Day of UN Peacekeepers falls during the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, offering a chance to honour the Blue Helmets invaluable contribution to the Organisation. The theme for the day this year is “UN at 70: Peacekeeping: Past, Present, and Future.”