Pakistan, Morocco and Guatemala were elected to the 15-nation UN Security Council for 2012 and 2013 on Friday.
Guatemala ran unopposed, but needed to secure a two-thirds majority in the 193-nation General Assembly. It won 191 votes. Pakistan scraped through in the first round of voting with the minimum required 129 votes while Morocco received 151 votes. There will be a second round of voting for two more seats, one in Africa between Togo and Mauritania and one in Eastern Europe between Azerbaijan, Slovenia and Hungary.
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar congratulated the nation on Pakistan’s election to the UNSC, saying, “Pakistan will assume its seat on the Security Council from January 1 2012,” a Foreign Office statement said. “Pakistan’s election with a two-third majority of votes in the United Nations General Assembly reflects the importance and respect that Pakistan enjoys in the international community,” it said, adding, “Pakistan will take its seat on the UN Security Council at a time when the world in general and our extended region in particular is witnessing developments of far reaching implications.”