Pak PM Imran Khan to attend UNGA session for 1st time in Sept

PTI, Jun 20, 2019, 1:57 PM IST

Islamabad: For the first time, Imran Khan will bat for Pakistan at the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September, according to a top aide of the prime minister.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said that the Pakistani delegation to the UNGA will be limited to prime minister Khan and foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

This is to avoid the burden on the national exchequer, Awan said Wednesday following a Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Khan.

Cash-strapped Pakistan is seeking help from multiple lenders like the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to overcome a ballooning balance of payments crisis. Pakistan has received financial assistance from close allies like China and Saudi Arabia.

During the official visit, the prime minister and foreign minister unlike their predecessors, would not stay at the seven-star hotels, but at the residence of the ambassador or consul general at the embassy.

“The decision was in line with the spirit of austerity to save public money and divert it towards the betterment of people,” Awan was quoted as saying by state-run Associated Press of Pakistan news agency.

Prime Minister Khan will address the 74th UNGA session for the first time since the cricketer-turned-politician assumed office in August 2018. Foreign Minister Qureshi represented Pakistan at the 73rd session last September.

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