Kinshasa (Congo): A senior Pakistan Army colonel in Congo has been accused of attempting to convert UN Mission personnel to Islam.
Islam is a minority religion in the Central African country of Congo. The Pakistan Army colonel had contacted several Christian employees of the United Nations Mission in Congo and had asked them to convert to Islam.
According to an IBT report, the Pakistan Army’s Colonel Saqib Mushtaki is a deputy commander part of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO).
Islam is a minority religion in Congo
Noting the incident, the General Headquarters (GHQ) of the Pakistan Army has started an internal investigation. However, it is not clear what action will be taken against the Pakistan Army official.
According to The Chronicles, Pakistan Army authorities have been actively promoting “the propagation of the religion of Islam in eastern Congo” since the arrival of the UN mission in 1999.
Sources in the regional government and local writers have told the ‘Le Soir’ newspaper that the Pakistan Army contingent has built several mosques in the North Kivu and Ituri regions.
‘Pakistan Aemy officials promoting Islam in eastern Congo’
This is not the first time the Pakistan Army’s UN peacekeepers have gained notoriety for their actions. In 2012, two Pakistan Army peacekeepers were accused of rsexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in Haiti on several occasions.
The Pakistan military tribunal in Haiti had dismissed the duo from the Pakistan Army and had sentenced them to one year in prison.
Earlier, Munir Akram, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations, was accused of domestic violence by his partner. The New York Times reported that the case was settled out of court and Akram was not charged due to his diplomatic outreach.
Between May 2018 and May 2019, the White House had to impose travel restrictions outside the 25-mile radius around Washington DC without prior approval due to the poor image of Pakistani diplomats in the United States.
