Pakistan should openly canvass for Dhanapala
 

BY MANJULA Fernando

A leading Pakistani News resource, the News International in a Opinion Column on Wednesday strongly suggested that Pakistan should openly canvass for the Sri Lankan candidate for the UN top post, Jayantha Dhanapala.

Written by the Director General of the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad, the column featured Dhanapala as a serious contender and a highly qualified candidate from South Asia for this critical post within the UN establishment, which this time is open for Asia.

"For Pakistan it is essential to come out openly to canvass for our Sri Lankan friend, not only because of our bi-lateral ties but also because of the South Asian factor," the columnist Shireen M Mazari stressed.

She argues that although Dhanapala's substantive credentials stand out on their own merit, it becomes critical for Pakistan to lend support to Sri Lanka due to the strong strategic relationship the two countries share living alongside a major power.

The article described Dhanapala as "a leading retired diplomat with vast experience in the UN organisation itself and with an active international role in relation to arms control and disarmament and the championing of non-discriminatory global norms."

It added: "His remarkable Presidency of the 1995 Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review and Extension Conference led to passage of a set of decisions being adopted without a vote.

This success was a major reason for his being invited to serve as a member of the Canberra Commission along with 17 other international personalities."

She explained that the Pakistan support would help harness the backing of the Arab world and other developing states to the Sri Lankan candidate for the post which falls vacant in 2006.

The writer had listened to Dhanapala's presentations on 'nuclear proliferation, UN and disarmament' at the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies at Lahore earlier this year.