FLUSHING MEADOWS [New York]: Chaud­hri Mohammad Zafrullah Khan, Pakistan Foreign Minister, headed the opposition in the General Assembly today [May 2] to a proposal to speed-up consideration of “Israel’s” admission to the United Nations. The Assem­bly had before it a Steering Committee recommendation that the matter be referred to the Minor rather than the regular Political Committee. Chaudhri Zafrullah maintained that the Assembly had already decided to refer “Israel’s” admission to its regular Political Committee and had decided to act only on that Committee’s recommendation. …[A] two-thirds majority would be necessary to alter that decision and reallocate the matter to the Minor Committee, he said.

The … Foreign Minister, who was believed to be expressing the general feeling of the Mus­­lim States, criticised the Steering Com­mittee for having singled out this one item for re-allocation to the ad hoc group. … “For some mysterious reason it decided that the only item that should be re-allocated was ‘Is­­ra­el’. No reason is disclosed why that extraordinary procedure should be adopted in the face of the decision already made.” — News agencies

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2024