Last Pakistani unit winds up Liberia duty

UN acknowledges role played by country in bringing peace to war-torn nation

With the United Nations set to close its “successful” peacekeeping mission in Liberia by the end of next month, the remaining unit of the Pakistani contingent — a well-equipped hospital — is now winding up its operations after serving the people of the West African country for some 15 years.

The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was deployed in 2003 to monitor a ceasefire agreement in Liberia following the conclusion of a brutal civil war.

At its peak it consisted of up to 15,000 United Nations military personnel from and 1,115 police officers, along with a civilian component, from at least 10 troop contributing countries.

Over the years, Pakistan, as UNMIL’s backbone, provided infantry battalions, a signal company, engineering companies, military observers, police officers as well as the Level-II hospital.

‘Difficult days’

From 2005 to 2013, Pakistan contributed more than 2,000 peacekeepers to UNMIL per annum, with a high of 3,400 in 2007 and 2008. The bulk of the Pakistani troops returned home in 2015, with the medical unit remaining behind.

“We really have to acknowledge the significant contribution made by Pakistan to the peace process in Liberia,” Waldemar Vrey, UNMIL’s deputy special representative, said in an interview during which he commended the professionalism and sense of dedication of the Pakistani personnel operating in difficult conditions.

“They have been with us from the beginning of the mission, particularly in the first difficult days of the mission,” he said, noting that more than 20,000 Pakistani peacekeepers, both military and police, have served in Liberia since 2003.

“Not only that, I also want to acknowledge that several of the Force Commanders who served in Liberia were from Pakistan, and we have to acknowledge the good leadership that has been displayed by the Pakistani generals over this period of time,” the mission’s deputy chief said.

For a long period of time at least up to 3,000 Pakistani troops were serving in Liberia per year. “And we have to acknowledge the service and sacrifice of the Pakistani peacekeepers and remember that 23 of them lost their lives serving under the UN flag in Liberia.”

The Pakistani peacekeepers, Vrey said, played a crucial role.

UNMIL deputy special representative