UN restores Pakistan’s status as family station for international staff

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Friday that the UN had restored Pakistan’s status as a family station for the United Nation’s international staff.

“Good news! Based on comprehensive security review, UN restores Islamabad’s status as family station for its international staff. I warmly welcome the decision,” he wrote.

Good news! Based on comprehensive security review, UN restores Islamabad’s status as family station for its international staff. I warmly welcome the decision.

— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) June 20, 2019

“I, under the delegated authority of the Commission, discontinued the non-family status of the duty station Islamabad, Pakistan effective 14 June 2019,” read a letter from the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) of the United Nations, Larbi Djacta, read.

This means that the United Nations has allowed its personnel to travel to Pakistan with their families.

According to the ICSC’s website, a United Nations Department of Safety and Security determines that a non-duty family station is one where “for reasons of safety and security, all eligible dependants are restricted from being present at the duty station for a period of six months or longer”.

“Family restrictions for reasons of safety and security and designation of non-family duty stations are normally reviewed twice a year […] non-family designation may be introduced or lifted outside the scheduled time if the security situation so warrants.”