UN's Jean Pierre Lacroix meets Pak army chief

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean Pierre Lacroix met Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the military headquarters in Rawalpindi on Monday.

General Bajwa has assured Pakistan will continue to play an effective role in United Nation's (UN) peacekeeping missions.

"[The] COAS affirmed that Pakistan will continue to play its positive role being one of the highest troop-contributing nations for maintaining international peace and security under the United Nations flag," the Express Tribune reported, quoting the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), as saying in a statement.

In addition to this, the visiting UN official acknowledged Pakistan's contribution in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations.

"We value the sacrifices of the Pakistani nation. We are extremely grateful to Pakistan for its warm welcome and also for outstanding contribution to UN peacekeeping, Geo TV reported Lacroix, as saying to General Bajwa.

"This visit was also an opportunity to pay tribute to 156 Pakistani peacekeepers who lost their lives serving the UN, we express special thought for them, for their memory and also their families and we also would like to extend our thanks and gratitude to all the Pakistani peacekeepers currently serving in our missions and as well as their families. All of them are paying a price for that and we are extremely grateful," he added.

Pakistani peacekeepers have participated in 44 peacekeeping missions in 26 countries all over the world. There are over 6,000 Pakistani troops on different UN peacekeeping missions currently.