UN Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in Islamabad on October 6 for a three-day official visit. He will meet Pakistan’s top civil and military leadership, visit the UNMOGIP headquarters, and receive a disaster-management briefing.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in Islamabad in the early hours of Tuesday for a three-day official visit, the Foreign Office said. The visit, at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, runs from October 6 to 8.
Upon arrival, the UN chief was received by Acting Foreign Secretary Ambassador Nabeel Munir, the Foreign Office said in a post on social media platform X.
Packed schedule: leadership meetings and field visits
Guterres’s itinerary covers the full sweep of Pakistan’s civil and military leadership. He is scheduled to meet President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Dar, and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.
Beyond the meetings, the secretary-general will visit the headquarters of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) — the UN’s long-running Kashmir observer mission — and attend a briefing at the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
The Foreign Office said the visit would highlight Pakistan’s “efforts towards strengthening multilateralism and international peace and security,” as well as its progress on disaster preparedness and early-warning systems.
Why it matters
The visit lands at a moment when Pakistan has positioned itself as a diplomatic bridge. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the talks will cover Pakistan’s mediatory role in the US–Iran confrontation and its “constructive role” in supporting negotiations, noting the country has been “using its diplomacy and mediation to bring parties together when dialogue is most needed.”
Guterres has repeatedly praised Islamabad’s contribution to international peacekeeping, and PM Shehbaz’s meeting with him on the sidelines of last month’s UN General Assembly in New York focused on the Middle East, where the UN chief commended Pakistan’s strong voice at the forum and its sacrifices in countering terrorism.
The trip also carries symbolic weight: it comes as Guterres’s 10-year tenure as UN secretary-general approaches its end on December 31. His first visit to Pakistan in the role was in February 2020.
What’s next
Over the three days, expect joint statements after the leadership meetings — likely covering regional security, Pakistan’s peacekeeping role, and climate-linked disaster resilience, given the NDMA briefing on the agenda. Two of the six candidates competing to succeed Guterres have already visited Pakistan in recent months, a sign of the country’s continued relevance at the UN as the leadership transition approaches.
