UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan, Denmark, Greece, Panama and Somalia were set to get seats on the UN Security Council in a secret ballot Thursday in the General Assembly.
The 193-member world body is scheduled to vote to elect five countries to serve two-year terms on the council. The 10 non-permanent seats on the 15-member council are allotted to regional groups who usually select their candidates but sometimes can’t agree on one. There are no such surprises this year.
Last year, Slovenia soundly defeated Russia’s close ally Belarus for the seat representing the East European regional group, a vote that reflected strong global opposition to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This time, the regional groups put forward Somalia for an African seat, Pakistan for an Asia-Pacific seat, Panama for a Latin America and Caribbean seat, and Denmark and Greece for two mainly Western seats.
The five council members elected Thursday will start their terms on Jan. 1, replacing those whose two-year terms end on Dec. 31 — Mozambique, Japan, Ecuador, Malta and Switzerland.
They will join the five veto-wielding permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom and France — and the five countries elected last year — Algeria, Guyana, South Korea, Sierra Leone and Slovenia.
The Security Council is charged with maintaining international peace and security. But because of Russia’s veto power it has been unable to take action on Ukraine — and because of close US ties to Israel it has not called for a cessation of hostilities in Gaza.
All five countries expected to win seats on Thursday have served previously on the Security Council – Pakistan seven times, Panama five times, Denmark four times, Greece twice and Somalia once.
Virtually every country agrees that almost eight decades after the United Nations was established the Security Council needs to expand and reflect the world in the 21st century, not the post-World War II era reflected now.
But with 193 countries with national interests, the central question — and the biggest disagreement — is exactly how. And for four decades, those disagreements have blocked any significant reform of the UN’s most powerful body.
Pakistan among five countries set to get non-permanent UN Security Council seats
Pakistan among five countries set to get non-permanent UN Security Council seats
- All the five countries have previously served as the council members, with Pakistan doing it seven times
- There is global agreement over the council’s expansion but significant differences over how to do it
Pakistan to begin first phase of Hajj 2026 trainings from today
- Training programs to be held in phases across Pakistan till February, says religion ministry
- Saudi Arabia allocated Pakistan a total quota of 179,210 pilgrims for Hajj 2026
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry has said that it will begin the first phase of mandatory Hajj 2026 training for pilgrims intending to perform the pilgrimage from today, Thursday.
The one-day Hajj training programs will be held in phases across the country at the tehsil level until February. The ministry directed intending pilgrims to bring their original identity cards and the computerized receipt of their Hajj application to attend the training sessions.
“Pilgrims should attend the one-day training program according to their scheduled date,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) said in a statement.
The ministry said training schedules are being shared through the government’s Pak Hajj 2026 mobile application as well as via SMS. It added that details of the schedule are also available on its website.
According to the ministry, training programs will be held in Abbottabad on Jan. 2; Ghotki, Thatta and Kotli on Jan. 3; and Tando Muhammad Khan and Khairpur on Jan. 4.
Hajj training sessions will be held in Rawalakot, Badin and Naushahro Feroze on Jan. 5, while pilgrims in Fateh Jang, Dadu and Tharparkar will receive the training on Jan. 6.
The ministry said training programs will be conducted in Umerkot and Larkana on Jan. 7, followed by sessions in Mirpurkhas, Shahdadkot and Mansehra on Jan. 8.
Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry has previously said these trainings will be conducted by experienced trainers and scholars using multimedia.
It said the training has been made mandatory to ensure that intending pilgrims are fully aware of Hajj rituals and administrative procedures.
Saudi Arabia has allocated Pakistan a quota of 179,210 pilgrims for Hajj 2026, of which around 118,000 seats have been reserved under the government scheme, while the remainder will be allocated to private tour operators.
Under Pakistan’s Hajj scheme, the estimated cost of the government package ranges from Rs1,150,000 to Rs1,250,000 ($4,049.93 to $4,236), subject to final agreements with service providers.
