FOR almost 80 years, Pakistanis have served under the UN flag, helping communities recover from conflict and rebuild peace.

Pakistan has also provided refuge to millions fleeing instability. Pakistan has helped make international cooperation possible. Today, that spirit matters more than ever. Countries may disagree on politics, economics, and security, but share challenges none can resolve alone. Cooperation protects national interests.

The UN secretary-general’s message was clear during his recent visit to Pakistan: no country can tackle interconnected challenges alone.

Conflict disrupts trade and raises food and energy costs; climate change threatens water, agriculture and livelihoods; pandemics and artificial intelligence bring cross-border risks and opportunities.

For Pakistan, these connections are not theoretical. The devastating floods of 2022 caused an estimated $30 billion in damage and economic losses, with women and children among those facing the most lasting consequences.

The floods of 2025 brought another reminder of the human and economic costs of climate-related disasters. Building resilience requires strong national leadership, effective domestic resource allocation, and better development of vulnerable communities, but also international solidarity, climate finance, and partnerships.

Pakistan’s recent diplomacy offers another illustration. The secretary-general praised Pakistan’s role in facilitating dialogue between the United States and Iran. Such efforts cannot guarantee peace, but they show why diplomacy matters: even when interests diverge sharply, keeping channels open can create possibilities that confrontation alone cannot.

Pakistan’s contribution to UN peacekeeping and its long-standing role in hosting refugees reflect the same understanding. A more peaceful region, functioning international institutions, and respect for international law matter directly to Pakistan’s security and prosperity.

What are countries choosing to do about a divided world?

The stakes are also domestic. Pakistan’s population of around 255 million includes a vast young generation. Realising its potential depends on access to quality education, relevant skills, and decent work.

Turning demographic scale into an economic dividend requires sustained national investment and international partnership. Women and girls, people with disabilities, and other marginalised groups must be able to shape and share in that opportunity; otherwise, inequality will hold back progress.

Defending multilateralism does not mean defending every aspect of today’s institutions. Many people question whether international cooperation can deliver solutions to the problems they face in daily life. Those concerns deserve to be taken seriously. The answer is not less multilateralism, but better multilateralism: more effective, more representative and better equipped to deliver.

The secretary-general’s UN80 initiative is part of that effort. But reform is a shared responsibility: Member states should provide the political leadership and resources needed to make cooperation work, while holding the UN accountable for delivering on its mandates.

The UN Charter’s principles remain essential: sovereign equality, peaceful settlement of disputes, international law, and human rights. They are not always upheld consistently. That is a reason to demand greater accountability, not discard them. When rules apply selectively, trust erodes and every country is more exposed.

Weaker cooperation has real consequences: lives lost to conflict and disaster, livelihoods destro­y­­ed, girls pushed out of school and opportunities denied to yo­­ung people. The UN provides a place to negotiate, coordina­­te action, and supp­ort people facing crises. It cannot resolve every conflict, but can help keep dialo­gue open and turn commitments into results.

Pakistan’s commitment to the multilateral system was also recognised when President Asif Ali Zardari conferred the Nishan-i-Imtiaz on Secretary-General Guterres on Oct 6 — the first time Pakistan has bestowed the honour on a serving UN secretary-general. It recognised his service and the long-standing Pakistan-UN partnership.

On United Nations Day, the question is not whether the world is divided. It plainly is. The question is what countries choose to do about it. In a world where we cannot control every change taking place around us and so many challenges cross borders, we can choose whether to meet the challenge through confrontation or cooperation; division or dialogue; unilateralism or solidarity.

For Pakistan, as for every country, cooperation, dialogue and solidarity are not concessions of sovereignty. They are investments in a more stable, sustainable and prosperous future.

The writer is United Nations resident coordinator (ad interim) in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2026

ISLAMABAD: Undocumented Afghan nationals continue to be arrested by authorities, and a joint report of IOM and UNHCR says over the past one week, 517 Afghans were arrested from three districts of Balochistan, Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Out of all arrests and detentions during October 11 to 17, ACC holders and undocumented Afghans from Chagai, Peshawar and Karachi represented 97 per cent of the total arrests and detentions, while Proof of Regis­tration (POR) holders represented 3 per cent. About 56pc of the total reported arrests and detentions took place in Balochistan, 34pc in Pun­jab and 10pc in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The report says prior to 2023, there was no data collected on the arrest and detention of Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders or undocumented Afghan nationals. Since January 2023, IOM has started to collect the data.

Findings of the report show cumulatively, from Sept 15, 2023 to Oct 17, 2026, about 2,744,068 Afghans have been sent back to their country from Pakistan.

Between Oct 11 and 17, UNHCR and IOM estimate 3,883 Afghans returned through the Torkham, Chaman and Bahramcha border crossing points to Afghanistan.

Between October 11 and 17, the nu­­mber of returns decreased by 10pc and deportations by 48pc — compared to the previous week of October 4 to 10, 2026 (4,295 returns including 961 deportations). Betw­een Oct 11 and 17, a total of 3,883 returns were reported, including 499 deportations. Compared to the previous week, dep­o­­rtations de­­c­­reased significantly, while returns de­­creased only moderately, report says.

Among those who returned bet­we­en Oct 11 and 17, most were un­­documented (83pc) followed by ACC holders (9pc) and PoR holders (8pc). Majority of the PoR returns were processed by UNHCR through the Volu­n­tary Repatriation Centres (VRCs).

Among those deported between Oct 11 and 17, most were undocumented (99pc) followed by PoR holders (1pc) and ACC holders (1pc). Since April 1, 2025, 1,890,035 Afghans returned, of which 237,387 (13pc) were deported.

During the period, fear of arrest remained the main reason for return among undocumented individuals and ACC holders (95pc) as well as for PoR holders (68pc).

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2026