Pakistan Army colonel found converting UN mission employees to Islam in Congo, internal inquiry ordered

New Delhi: A senior Pakistan Army colonel on official duty in Congo has been accused of converting United Nations mission employees to Islam.

Islam is a minority religion in the Central African country and as per the reports; the colonel approached a few Christian UN mission employees and asked them to convert to Islam.

According to a report by IBT, Colonel Saqib Mushtaqi is a contingent deputy commander part of United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

Islam A Minority Religion In Congo

Meanwhile, taking note of the incident, the General Headquarters (GHQ) has initiated an internal inquiry into the incident; however, it is not clear what action will be taken against the Pakistani official.

Also Read | US should act to counter China’s subversion of UN, commission says in report to Congress

According to The Chronicles, since the arrival of the UN mission in 1999, Pakistani officials have actively promoted “their brand of Islam in eastern Congo”.

Sources in regional government and local authors have told Le Soir newspaper that the Pakistani contingent has built several mosques in greater north Kivu and Ituri regions.

'Pakistani Officials Promoting Islam In Eastern Congo'

This is not the first time that UN peacekeepers from Pakistan have gained notoriety for their actions. In 2012, two Pakistani peacekeepers were accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in Haiti. A Pakistani military tribunal in Haiti sacked them from the army and sentenced the duo to a year in prison.

Also Read | India seeks to contain Chinese influence in UN

Earlier, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations, Munir Akram was accused of domestic violence by his partner. The New York Times reported that the case was settled out of the court and no charges were pressed on Akram due to his diplomatic immunity.

The image of the Pakistani diplomats in the United States was so bad that between May 2018 and May 2019 the White House had to impose travel restrictions banning their movement beyond a 25-miles radius around Washington DC without prior approval.