On May 29, 2025, the United Nations will commemorate the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers by posthumously awarding the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal to 57 fallen peacekeepers, including two Pakistanis, Sepoy Muhammad Tarique and Havildar Ahsan Ullah Khan, for their service with the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA).
The ceremony will be held at UN Headquarters in New York, underscoring the sacrifices of over 4,400 peacekeepers who have died since 1948.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres will lay a wreath at the Peacekeepers Memorial to honour those who have fallen. A medal ceremony will follow this in the Trusteeship Council Chamber. The Dag Hammarskjöld Medal, established in 1997, recognises peacekeepers who lost their lives while under UN command. It is named after the second UN Secretary-General, who died in a plane crash in 1961. Among the 57 recipients for 2024, Tarique and Khan will be honoured for their bravery in the volatile region of Abyei.
Pakistan’s Peacekeeping Legacy
Pakistan is the fifth-largest contributor to UN peacekeeping efforts, with over 2,800 personnel deployed across various missions in Abyei, the Central African Republic, Congo, Cyprus, Somalia, South Sudan, and Western Sahara, according to Dawn. Since 1948, a total of 156 Pakistani peacekeepers have lost their lives, including Naik Naeem Raza in 2018 and Sepoy Amir Aslam in 2020; both were previously honoured with medals for their service. The country’s commitment to peacekeeping is rooted in the UN’s principles of consent, impartiality, and limited use of force, all of which support global stability.
Since the UN’s first mission in 1948, more than two million peacekeepers from 125 countries have participated in 71 operations. Currently, 68,000 peacekeepers are active in 11 conflict zones, according to UN.org. The International Day in 2024 theme is “Fit for the Future: Building Better Together,” which emphasises the importance of partnerships in promoting peace. Security analyst Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa from Quaid-i-Azam University states, “Pakistan’s sacrifices in peacekeeping reflect its crucial role in global conflict resolution.”
The ceremony honours fallen heroes while spotlighting peacekeeping’s role in promoting peace.
