Pakistan removes Lodhi, appoints Akram as UN envoy

In a major reshuffle of diplomats, Pakistan on Monday removed Maleeha Lodhi and appointed Munir Akram as the country's permanent representative to the United Nations.

The development came merely a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan returned from the US, where he raised the Kashmir issue in his maiden address to the UN General Assembly last week.

"Ambassador Munir Akram has been appointed as the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations in New York, in place of Dr Maleeha Lodhi," the Foreign Office said in a statement.

However, it gave no reason for her removal.

In his speech that went on for about 50 minutes, far exceeding the 15-minute limit for UN speeches during the General Debate, Khan devoted half of his address to the Kashmir issue, warning that if there's face-off between two nuclear-armed neighbours, the consequences would be far beyond their borders.

His war rhetoric was in sharp contrast to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's peace message from the same podium few minutes earlier in which he said India is a country, that has "given the world, not war, but Buddha's message of peace."