UN chief to visit Pakistan for talks with top leadership

Outgoing UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit Pakistan this week for talks with the country’s top leadership and to review its disaster preparedness, officials said Monday.

A UN spokesperson said on US social media company X that Guterres was departing for the previously scheduled trip and was expected to arrive in Pakistan on Tuesday morning.

During his visit, Guterres will meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said Guterres will visit the country from Oct. 6-8 at Dar’s invitation and will also meet Chief of Defence Forces and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.

Guterres will visit the National Disaster Management Authority to review progress in disaster preparedness and resilience since the devastating 2022 floods.

It will be his first visit to Pakistan since Sept. 2022, when he toured flood-hit areas and called for greater international support for the country.

He will also visit the Islamabad headquarters of the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan, or UNMOGIP.

The UN spokesperson said the visit would also include discussions on Pakistan’s diplomatic and mediation efforts between the US and Iran.

The Foreign Ministry said the visit would provide an opportunity to exchange views on regional and international developments and reaffirm Pakistan’s “longstanding cooperation” with the UN.

Guterres, whose second and final term as UN chief ends on Dec. 31, is expected to return to New York on Thursday.