UN shocked at locals objections to offices in residential areas

ISLAMABAD - United Nations Resident Coordinator Fikret Acura has said that he is 'amazed at all those critics who criticise the existence of foreign missions and UN offices in residential areas.
He was addressing a press briefing jointly conducted by him and UN Under-Secretary-General (USG), Alain Le Roy, here on Tuesday. He said, The United Nations is here for the well being of people of Pakistan; we deserve support and appreciation from civil society, Im amazed at the people living in the vicinity of UN offices who complain about us.
Justifying the existence of foreign missions in residential localities, one of the most debated issues these days, the senior UN official said international relations are all about interacting with people and establishing good relations with communities. For an organisation like the UN, he said, moving to diplomatic enclave would simply minimise the opportunities of interaction with people. UN is a public organisation, we work for the welfare of people and if we move to any such location where there are too many security checks, it would be difficult for people to reach out to us. Unlike the embassies, we are present everywhere in Pakistan and moving to the enclave cant protect the entire UN, he said.
Regarding Mondays blast, Fikret said that UNs critical operations would continue including public dealings and IDPs related issues whereas all other operations would remain suspended for the time being. The critical operations would continue and some of our offices would keep working while others would remain closed; but we cant keep our offices closed for long as we are working for the people of Pakistan, he added
Speaking on the occasion, UN USG, Alain Le Roy said that Pakistan was the largest contributor towards peace related activities in the world. He lauded the role of Pakistan in peacekeeping activities saying 10,000 of 0.15 million UN peacekeeping forces are Pakistanis who are extending vital contributions for peace and humanity. This is really encouraging, Pakistanis are peace loving people and are always ready to offer their worthy contributions for noble causes. Its something really extraordinary, he observed while paying gratitude to the people of Pakistan for handling the recent IDPs crisis.
Later, while talking to TheNation, the UN Resident Coordinator, Fikret Acura hoped that hard times would pass and Pakistanis would see a peaceful environment very soon. By the will of Allah, this phase of insecurity would pass and people of Pakistanis would live in peace. We hope there would be no replica of what happened on Monday, he added.