DPM Dar arrives in New York ahead of UNGA's 81st session

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in New York to participate in the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), to be held from September 21 to 25, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Monday. In a post on social media platform X, FO said DPM Dar has a “full programme” of high-level engagements in the week. “He will participate in ministerial forums and deliver Pakistan’s statements and interventions on key issues of importance to Pakistan, including bilateral, regional and international priorities across the UN agenda,” FO said. Alongside accompanying Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif — who is due to arrive in New York later this week — DPM Dar will hold a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts and participate in a range of high-level engagements on the sidelines of the UNGA, FO said. Upon arrival on Monday, Dar was received by Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Asim Iftikhar Ahmad; Ambassador to the US Rizwan Saeed Sheikh; Pakistan Consul General in New York Aamer Ahmad Atozai; and officers of Pakistan’s Mission to the UN and Consulate in New York. In a curtain raiser posted on X on Sunday, FO said that during the visit, the DPM will attend the meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir, where he will highlight Pakistan’s “unwavering support” for the right to self-determination for Kashmiris. DPM Dar will also attend several high-level meetings on the Palestine issue, including a meeting of the eight Arab-Islamic countries and a high-level ministerial meeting of the global alliance for the implementation of the two-state solution, among others. According to FO, DPM Dar is also expected to deliver a statement during the UN Security Council high-level briefing on artificial intelligence. He will also chair a meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organisation’s Council of Ministers. The Pakistani delegation at the UNGA has been significantly streamlined as part of the government’s austerity measures. Dar and senior foreign-policy adviser Tariq Fatemi will form the core of the prime minister’s delegation. Several federal ministers who were initially expected to travel were dropped from the trip, according to sources at the country’s UN mission.