Pakistan Tuesday urged the Somali government for help in freeing Pakistani and other hostages being held by pirates, while stressing the need for countering the menace off the African country’s coast and in the Gulf of Aden.

“Any help that the government of Somalia can possibly extend in this regard would be appreciated highly,” Ambassador Raza Bashir Tarar, Pakistan’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, said during a UN Security Council debate on the situation in Somalia in the presence of the country’s President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.

“The entire Pakistani nation is worried about the hostages,” the Pakistani envoy told the 15-member body. He said President Asif Ali Zardari was personally overseeing efforts for their release.

Pakistan, he added, supported a comprehensive approach to address maritime piracy off the Somali coast and in the Gulf of Aden. In that regard, Pakistan supported the addition of the maritime component to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), as well as actions of the international naval coalition against piracy.

Turning to the domestic situation, Tarar said that a new leaf is being turned in the history of Somalia. Domestic political consensus among all Somali stakeholders was essential to usher in a new era, and  each step in the challenging journey was invaluable, since progress  towards constitutional development and State-building was fraught with a myriad of obstacles.

The Pakistani envoy, therefore, sent a clear message of encouragement andsolidarity to the Somali people and leadership. It was essential for  all political stakeholders in the country to seize the present moment, to rise above their differences and work towards a broader agreement on pending issues of the road map.

The unique opportunity presenting itself as unanimity on the broad contour of future governance, as well as the sustained engagement of  the international community, must not be lost. Political progress  would remain fragile without corresponding gains in the security area,  he said, welcoming, in that regard, the increased role of AMISOM in enhancing the effectiveness of the Somali forces.

Recalling that the UN Secretary-General had highlighted, in his most recent report, that the scarcity of resources was undermining progress, he said he hoped that the issue of resources would merit the Council’s due attention. APP