Pakistan urges ‘meaningful dialogue’ as deadly Sudan conflict nears third year
UNITED NATIONS: As Sudan marks 1,000 days of a brutal war between its rival military factions, a senior Pakistani diplomat Thursday told the UN Security Council that the only viable path forward lies in meaningful dialogue as he backed the efforts and peace plan presented by the transitional Sudanese Government.
“We stress that there is no military solution to this conflict,” Ambassador Usman Jadoon, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, said in the 15-member Council’s debate on the sharply deteriorating situation in Sudan where violence is intensifying, famine conditions looming and civilians remaining trapped between shifting front lines.
“The Sudanese people have suffered for far too long; The guns must fall silent, and a credible political horizon restored,” he said.
Sudan has been engulfed in the conflict since April 2023, when fighting erupted between former allies — the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces militia (RSF).
What began as a power struggle metastasized into deadly conflicts across the country, most devastating in the Darfur region, which also saw longstanding ethnic tensions that prompted allegations of genocide in the early 2000s to be reignited.
In his remarks, Ambassador Jadoon condemned in “the strongest terms” the atrocities committed by RSF in Darfur, including in El Fasher and earlier in El Geneina, as well as the continued violence now unfolding in Kordofan. “We reiterate that deliberate attacks against Peacekeepers, United Nations personnel, humanitarian workers and facilities are unacceptable and may amount to war crimes,” he said while stressing the need for holding those responsible for the atrocities accountable.
Pointing out that Pakistan’s position on Sudan remains firmly anchored in the principles of the UN Charter,” the Pakistani envoy said, “We reaffirm our unwavering support for the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Sudan. The preservation of a unified Sudan is essential not only for its people but also for the peace and stability of the Horn of Africa, the Sahel and the Red Sea region.”
In this regard, Ambassador Jadoon urged all parties in Sudan to demonstrate the requisite flexibility and sagacity to reach peaceful and sustainable settlement that preserves the unity of the country and prioritizes the interests and well being of the brotherly people of Sudan.
Highlighting Sudan’s dire humanitarian situation, he called for sustained, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to the affected areas of the country. The recent delivery of aid by the UN in South Kordofan with the assistance of Sudan government was a welcome development, he said, while calling for an urgent scaling-up of international funding for the humanitarian response, which remains severely under-resourced despite the immense needs.
Ambassador Jadoon urged the Security Council to discharge its responsibility by supporting a unified, sovereign and stable Sudan and by advancing a coordinated political process that leads to peace. APP
