Prime Minister Imran Khan will represent Pakistan for the first time at the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September, a top aide of the premier said Wednesday.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information andBroadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said that Pakistan’s delegation will comprise the prime ministerand the foreign minister to avoid burden on the national exchequer.
Cash-strapped Pakistan is seeking help from multiple lenderslike the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asian DevelopmentBank to overcome a ballooning balance of payments crisis. Pakistan has receivedfinancial assistance from close allies like China and Saudi Arabia.
During the official visit to the UNGA session, the primeminister and foreign minister unlike their predecessors, would not stay at theseven-star hotels, but at the residence of the ambassador or consul general atthe embassy. “The decision was in line with the spirit of austerity to savepublic money and divert it towards the betterment of people,” Awan wasquoted as saying by Geo News.Prime Minister Khan will address the 74th UNGAsession for the first time since the cricketer-turned-politician assumed officein August 2018. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi represented the countryat the 73rd session last September.