Pakistan PM to attend UNGA session next week

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi would lead Pakistan's delegation at the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week, according to the Foreign Office here.
Abbasi's trip to the US to attend the General Assembly session will not only be his first as premier but also the first high-level visit from Pakistan to the US after President Donald Trump criticised the country for providing safe havens to terrorists.
Trump, while announcing his policy for South Asia and Afghanistan, had hit out at Pakistan for providing safe havens to "agents of chaos" that kill Americans in Afghanistan and warned Islamabad that it has "much to lose" by harbouring terrorists. Pakistan is upset over the allegations.

The prime minister will hold bilateral meetings with a number of world leaders and the UN Secretary General on the sidelines of the General Assembly session, the Foreign Office said.
Abbasi will address the Council on Foreign Relations and will interact with the US Pakistan Business Council, it said.
The Prime Minister will also have extensive interaction with the international media, the statement said.

On the margins of the session from Monday, ministerial level meetings of many regional and sub-regional organisations like the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), G-77, Economic Cooperation Organisation, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Commonwealth, Developing-8 and others, will be held.

There will also be a meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir, the Foreign Office said.
Pakistan is a great advocate of multilateralism and the UN to promote collective responses to the multifaceted challenges of global peace, security and development, it said.
"We would continue our constructive role and engagement at the UN with a view to protecting and promoting our national interests, including on core issues such as Jammu and Kashmir, reform of the Security Council, counter-terrorism, human rights, peacekeeping, and a host of development and other matters," it said.
The annual session of the General Assembly has special significance as it is attended by a large number of heads of state and government.

The theme of this year's session is 'Focusing on people; Striving for peace and decent life for all on a Sustainable Planet'.