Pakistan supports Saudi Arabia rejection of UN seat

Islamabad – Pakistan has supported Saudi Arabia’s rejection of its non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council, praising its call for reform, the foreign ministry said Saturday.

Saudi Arabia declined the seat as a show of anger over the failure of the world forum to end the war in Syria and resolve the Palestinian issue, Xinhua reports.

“Pakistan fully understands the imperatives and compulsions which led to their decision not to join the Security Council after being elected to its non-permanent seat for the term 2014-2015,” the ministry said.

A statement of the foreign ministry said Pakistan agrees with the Saudi government that there should be forward movement and progress on all issues including Syria, Palestine and other long-standing issues like Kashmir.

“The Government of Pakistan has always supported all efforts to ensure peaceful resolution of disputes and is confident that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will continue to play its role in maintenance of international peace and security,” it said.

“The council should be equitable, fair and democratic in nature,” the statement said.