PM Imran Khan to attend UNGA session for 1st time

Prime Minister Imran Khan will represent Pakistan for the first time at the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September, a top aide of the premier said Wednesday.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said that Pakistan's delegation will comprise the prime minister and the foreign minister to avoid burden on the national exchequer.

Cash-strapped Pakistan is seeking help from multiple lenders like the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to overcome a ballooning balance of payments crisis. Pakistan has received financial assistance from close allies like China and Saudi Arabia.

During the official visit to the UNGA session, the prime minister and foreign minister unlike their predecessors, would not stay at the seven-star hotels, but at the residence of the ambassador or consul general at the embassy.

"The decision was in line with the spirit of austerity to save public money and divert it towards the betterment of people," Awan was quoted as saying by Geo News.

Prime Minister Khan will address the 74th UNGA session for the first time since the cricketer-turned-politician assumed office in August 2018.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi represented the country at the 73rd session last September.