Munir Akram replaces Maleeha Lodhi as UN Ambassador

ISLAMABAD: Dr. Maleeha Lodhi has been replaced by Munir Akram as Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations in New York.

The sudden announcement comes a day after Prime Minister Imran and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi returned to Pakistan after wrapping up their visit to the United States to attend the 74th session of the UN General Assembly.

Read: UN must demand India to lift Kashmir curfew: Maleeha Lodhi

The government did not provide a reason for the replacement of Dr. Lodhi. She has not been assigned any other portfolio as of now.

Following the announcement, Lodhi took to Twitter to say that she is grateful to have had the opportunity to represent the country for over four years.

Lodhi tweeted, “It has been an honour to serve the country & am grateful for the opportunity to do so for over four years.”

It has been an honour to serve the country & am grateful for the opportunity to do so for over four years. Representing Pakistan at the world’s most important multilateral forum was a great privilege. I had planned to move on after UNGA following a successful visit by the PM -1

— Maleeha Lodhi (@LodhiMaleeha) September 30, 2019

She added, “Representing Pakistan at the world’s most important multilateral forum was a great privilege. I had planned to move on after UNGA following a successful visit by the PM -1.”

In another tweet, she congratulated Munir Akram and wished him good luck, “I am humbled by the appreciation I have received for the PM’s visit and the support I have also received over the years. I wish my successor Munir Akram the best of luck!-2”

I am humbled by the appreciation I have received for the PM’s visit and the support I have also received over the years. I wish my successor Munir Akram the best of luck!-2

— Maleeha Lodhi (@LodhiMaleeha) September 30, 2019

Munir Akram, who has previously served at the same post from 2002 to 2008, would be stationed at the UN’s New York headquarters. He specialises in multilateral diplomacy with considerable experience over the years at the UN’s New York and Geneva chapters.

Akram studied at Karachi University and graduated with a Masters’s degree in Political Science and a Bachelors’s in Law. He has ably defended and protected Pakistan’s vital interests and continues to play a leading role in other important issues on the UN’s regular and reform agenda.