Mushtaq Ahmed Mehar (Former Ambassador): The UN General Assembly session is an annual exercise and the member countries participate in the summit in September every year. It is a good omen that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will address the 77th session of the assembly. The focus of the PM's address will be the challenges faced by Pakistan due to climate-induced catastrophic floods in the country. The Prime Minister will also highlight the Kashmir issue which is the main bone of contention between the two nuclear states. The Prime Minister will also participate in the Global Food Security Summit and the presence of the Prime Minister will automatically trigger sympathy among the global community regarding the challenges faced by Pakistan. The Prime Minister will hold a number of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from various countries, UNGA president, the UN Secretary-General and heads of different international organizations. We are hopeful that the visit of the Prime Minister will bring fruitful outcomes as far as the current situation in Pakistan is concerned.

Ali Sarwar Naqvi (Former Ambassador): The Prime Minister in his address at UNGA session will highlight the impacts of climate change in Pakistan. Moreover, Pakistan will also set up a photo exhibition at the UN Secretariat lobby displaying the destruction wreaked in Pakistan by recent floods. We must be hopeful that the international community will definitely come forward to provide financial assistance and aid to the flood affected people in Pakistan. International politics always remains complicated and every country prioritizes its national interests. Pakistan always highlighted the Kashmir dispute at all international forums but unfortunately the international community just for the sake of its national interests is hesitant to intervene in order to resolve the long standing issue.