Pakistan re-elected to executive council of chemical weapons watchdog

Published
The building of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is pictured in The Hague, Netherlands. — Reuters/File
The building of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is pictured in The Hague, Netherlands. — Reuters/File

Pakistan has been re-elected to the executive council of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the Foreign Office said in a statement on Saturday.

Pakistan will now be a member of the executive council for a further two years from 2022 to 2024.

Elections for the council were held during the recently concluded 26th session of the Conference of States Parties in the Netherlands from November 29 to December 2.

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) — the world's first multilateral disarmament agreement with 193 states as parties — is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction, according to the FO statement.

The executive council is the principal policy-making organ of the OPCW, which is responsible for supervising the effective implementation of and compliance with the CWC. It also supports the scientific and economic development of its member states in the peaceful uses of chemistry, it added.

Pakistan has been a member of the executive council since 1997.

"Pakistan has been contributing constructively towards the fulfillment of the objectives of the CWC and regularly hosts OPCW routine inspections at its relevant facilities," the Foreign Office said.

It termed Pakistan's re-election to the council a testament to the country's positive role in the watchdog, adding that it reaffirmed the confidence of other member states in Pakistan's ability to provide "effective leadership and impetus to the work of the OPCW".

Opinion

Editorial

Islamic banking
Updated 06 Jul, 2026

Islamic banking

THE roadmap for eliminating riba from Pakistan’s financial system from 2028 offers some clarity on how the...
Prison reforms
06 Jul, 2026

Prison reforms

IF nothing else, it was good to see the four provincial chief executives sharing a common platform. The chief...
Preserving Taxila
06 Jul, 2026

Preserving Taxila

TAXILA is far more than a collection of ancient ruins. It is one of South Asia’s greatest archaeological ...
Iran’s resilience
Updated 05 Jul, 2026

Iran’s resilience

THE funeral ceremonies for Iran’s assassinated supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his family members, which...
The annual test
05 Jul, 2026

The annual test

PAKISTAN enters another monsoon season with little room for complacency. Last year’s rains claimed more than 1,000...
Dangerous syringes
05 Jul, 2026

Dangerous syringes

INNOCENCE stands overwhelmed by another health emergency. The HIV crisis, beyond surging statistics — over 350,000...