UNITED NATIONS
Eighteen months after the fall of the long-standing Bashar Al-Assad regime, Pakistan has told the UN Security Council that Syria was making progress and transforming itself towards a better future.
“The wisdom demonstrated by the Syrian leadership in navigating a highly volatile regional environment, while remaining focused on national priorities and recovery, deserve recognition and admiration,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, said during a debate in the 15-member Council on the situation in Syria.
In broader context, he said, the signing of the Islamabad ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ and constructive follow-up engagements in Lucerne, Switzerland, over the weekend, have the potential of advancing lasting peace, prosperity and cooperation in the wider region.
According to UN reports, Syria has undergone major political and social shifts since a popular uprising ousted President Al-Assad in late 2024. The country’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has engaged more closely with the international community and promised accountability for past atrocity crimes, while undertaking significant government reforms.
In his remarks, the Pakistani envoy called Israel’s violations of Syrian sovereignty – namely, its recent military incursions, arbitrary arrests and the destruction of property and livelihoods – as “condemnable and destabilizing” and must be brought to an end.
“The new five-year settlement expansion plan in the occupied Syrian Golan is illegal under international law and must be stopped immediately”. Noting the growing cooperation between Syria and the UN, Ambassador Asim Ahmad said the political transition was “equally important”.
