July 14, 2007	Saturday	Jamadi-us-Sani 28, 1428

UNITED NATIONS, July 13: Pakistani peacekeepers in Democratic Republic of Congo were not charged in any illegal weapons trade scheme as some news reports had claimed recently, Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram said here on Friday.

A report on BBC news said that a United Nations inquiry has not given any conclusive evidence on the allegations.

Mr Akram told reporters at the UN: “We have received the report, and there is no conclusion that any Pakistani peacekeeper was involved in weapons trade.”

The investigation began in early 2006 after allegations by certain western NGOs that the Pakistani contingent was involved in selling gold and guns between 2005 and 2006 to Congolese militia groups they were meant to disarm.

Those accusations were firmly denied by Pakistani officials.

Mr Akram said the findings might indicate “at best an error of judgment” with regard to dealing with some questionable business people.

According to media reports, the DRC businessmen with whom the peacekeepers were in touch were of Indian origin.Pakistan, he said, would conduct its own investigation and would take appropriate action if any wrongdoing was confirmed.

At a recent ceremony to honour the peacekeepers at the UN headquarters in New York, Pakistani peacekeepers were applauded for their service to keep peace in various troubled regions where they have been stationed to maintain peace.