UNITED NATIONS: Hervé Ladsous, the Head of the UN Department of Peace-keeping Operations, will visit Islamabad begining Monday to thank the Pakistan government for its critical contributions to difficult UN peace-keeping missions and to seek quick deployment of troops.

In an interview with Dawn before setting off for Islamabad, Mr Ladsous echoed UN secretary general’s sentiments saying, “the sacrifices and contributions of Pakistani troops speak of the commitment of the troops to peace across the globe and Pakistanis desire to see the principles of human dignity, freedom and self-determination applied to all the people struggling to secure their inalienable basic human right.” He spoke about the use of drones or Unarmed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) since December of last year, which has helped the peace-keepers to identify the movements of rebel troops in Congo, which could help them perform their duties better.

More than 100 countries contribute troops and police for United Nations peace-keeping missions. Pakistan is number one.

Approximately 8,268 of Pakistan’s men and women currently serve in complex and challenging missions, including Darfur, Haiti , Democratic Republic of the Congo and Liberia .

Looking ahead Mr Ladsous reflects that Pakistani peace-keepers will be needed to enforce peace in Syria, if and when the conflict comes to an end.