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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Asim Iftikhar Ahmad called for reforms to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/un-security-council-demands-iran-halt-attacks-on-gulf-states" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">UN Security Council</a>&nbsp;and urged stronger multilateral cooperation during a briefing with a visiting US Army War College delegation, according to a statement released Tuesday by Pakistan&rsquo;s Mission to the UN. According to the statement posted on X, a 40-member delegation from the United States Army War College, led by Colonel Stephan Walters and including five female officers, visited Pakistan&rsquo;s mission to the United Nations for a country briefing. UN reform push Asim Iftikhar told participants the United Nations remained the central platform for addressing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/world-must-to-unite-hold-us-accountable-for-normalizing-the-proliferation-of-nukes-iran-fm" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">international peace</a>&nbsp;and security, development, human rights, climate change and emerging challenges such as artificial intelligence and information technology. He said global challenges were too interconnected for any country to address alone and called for stronger multilateral cooperation through the UN framework. The ambassador also discussed ongoing UN reform efforts, including changes to the Security Council and revitalization of the General Assembly. He said Pakistan supports &ldquo;democratic, transparent, and accountable&rdquo; reform of the Security Council while opposing the creation of new permanent seats. Pakistan&rsquo;s UNSC role Asim Iftikhar pointed to Pakistan&rsquo;s role as a current member of the UN Security Council in peacekeeping,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-sri-lanka-conclude-twoweek-joint-counterterrorism-drills" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">counterterrorism</a>, regional stability and promoting peaceful settlement of disputes. He also referred to the recent adoption of a Security Council resolution during Pakistan&rsquo;s council presidency that committed to peaceful dispute resolution under Chapter VI of the UN Charter. US-Iran tensions The discussions also focused on tensions involving the United States and Iran, the evolving security situation in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-israel-war-on-iran-day-74" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Middle East</a>, demographic change, artificial intelligence and Islamophobia. The Pakistani ambassador warned that instability linked to US-Iran tensions had affected global energy markets, oil and gas supplies, fertilizer availability, food security, inflation, maritime trade and global economic growth. Regional diplomacy Asim Iftikhar said disruption in the Strait of Hormuz carried serious implications for global energy flows and trade routes. He stated that the United Nations had examined several scenarios linked to a prolonged crisis and said Pakistan had also experienced economic effects from the regional instability. He described Pakistan&rsquo;s relationship with the United States as broad-based, covering security, defense, counterterrorism, economic cooperation and trade. He also said Pakistan had engaged with the United States, Iran, Gulf countries, Egypt, China and Turkiye to support de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy. AI and Islamophobia On artificial intelligence, Ahmad said growing use of AI in policy-making and institutional decision-making would raise human rights concerns and become a larger issue within the United Nations system. Addressing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/international-day-to-combat-islamophobia-data-shows-antimuslim-hate-rising-in-india-other-countries" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Islamophobia</a>, the Pakistani envoy said freedom of religion and belief remained a fundamental human right. He noted Pakistan&rsquo;s support for efforts at the United Nations to establish a special envoy to combat Islamophobia. The delegation included 33 American participants, two from Pakistan and one each from T&uuml;rkiye, Sri Lanka, Moldova, Guatemala and Ecuador.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Asim Iftikhar Ahmad speaks during a May 11 briefing with a visiting US Army War College delegation at Pakistan’s UN mission in New York. (Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN)

Foreign Affairs

Pakistan says it supports UN reform, multilateral diplomacy and dialogue on global security issues, including Middle East tensions, artificial intelligence and Islamophobia.

Pakistan envoy calls for UN reform during US military delegation visit

HONG KONG: Oil prices rose, and equities fell Thursday as investors tracked developments in the Middle East amid hopes that US and Iranian officials will bring an end to a conflict that has ramped up fears of an unprecedented global energy crisis. Markets have been buoyed since late Monday after Donald Trump backed down on a threat to destroy the Islamic republic&#39;s energy infrastructure and said the two sides were in peace talks. But while crude prices are down from last week and the mood on trading floors has been better than most of March, uncertainty and the virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz -- through which around 20% of oil and gas passes -- continue to cast a dark shadows. Washington presented a 15-point plan to end the war, including Iran giving up its enriched uranium and opening up the waterway, while Tehran&#39;s state-run TV reported officials had put forward their own five conditions for hostilities to end. Trump on Wednesday threatened to &quot;unleash hell&quot; if Iran did not strike a deal, but Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country does not intend to negotiate. But the US president also said Iran was taking part in peace talks and the denials were because negotiators feared being killed by their own side. &#39;Pressure on energy prices&#39; &quot;Pressure on energy prices, shipping flows and broader financial conditions remains one of the few meaningful sources of leverage (Iran) retains,&quot; said Saxo Markets&#39; Charu Chanana. &quot;There is therefore little incentive to relinquish that leverage prematurely, particularly if market stress strengthens its negotiating position. However, she added: &quot;It would be imprudent to assume diplomacy is absent simply because it is not visible. In conflicts of this nature, public rhetoric and private negotiation often diverge materially. &quot;Markets understand this dynamic, and they also tend to inflect before the political endgame is formally in place.&quot; With investors holding on to hope that a deal can be struck, oil prices have stabilised this week, with Brent just above $100 and WTI around $90. Both contracts were up around two percent Thursday. Stocks in Wall Street and Europe rose but Asian markets struggled after a two-day rally. Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, Sydney, Taipei, Manila, Bangkok and Jakarta fell. City Index&#39;s Fiona Cincotta said for any recovery to gain traction, &quot;investors will want to see clearer signs of de-escalation, including the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz&quot;. &#39;Worst industrial crisis&#39;&nbsp; Her remarks come after the head of the International Chamber of Commerce, John Denton, warned the conflict could cause the &quot;worst industrial crisis&quot; in decades. &quot;The head of the International Energy Agency has warned that the world is facing an energy crisis more severe than the oil shocks of the 1970s,&quot; he added. &quot;From a business perspective, we believe this could yet become the worst industrial crisis in living memory.&quot; Meanwhile, the World Trade Organization said disruptions to fertiliser supplies posed a double threat to global food security through scarcity and high prices, with a third of the global fertiliser supply normally transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Key figures at around 0700 GMT&nbsp;West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.1% at $92.23 a barrel Brent North Sea Crude: UP 2.1% at $104.33 a barrel Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3% at 53,603.65 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 2.0% at 24,833.44 Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.1% at 3,889.08 (close) Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1560 from $1.1565 on Wednesday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3359 from $1.3365 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 159.35 yen from 159.47 yen Euro/pound: UP at 86.53 pence from 86.52 pence New York - Dow: UP 0.7% at 46,429.49 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 1.4% at 10,106.84 (close)

Business

Oil prices rose, and equities fell on Thursday as investors tracked developments in the Middle East amid hopes that US and Iranian officials will bring an end to a conflict that has ramped up fears of an unprecedented global energy crisis.

Articles tagged with "Global Energy Crisis"

Pakistan envoy calls for UN reform during US military delegation visit

Oil rises and equities mixed amid mixed messages on 'talks'

Pakistan envoy calls for UN reform during US military delegation visit