RAWALPINDI: A ceremony to mark the beginning of the first international UN Peacekeeping Military Observers Course was held by the Centre for International Peace and Stability (CIPS), NUST Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, Islamabad.

Nine participants from Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Zambia and Zimbabwe along with 22 Pakistani observers (21 army officers and a naval officer) are attending the course, says an ISPR press release.

NUST Rector Mohammad Asghar said Pakistan had over half a century of rich experience in UN peacekeeping and ranked among the top troop contributing countries and its contribution had been recognised by the UN secretary general.

CIPS is the only peacekeeping training school in the world inaugurated by the UN secretary general.

Published in Dawn, October 25th , 2014