UN top job: Pak may field Maleeha Lodhi

This is meant to counter India's move of fielding Shashi Tharoor for the post.

Pakistan may field its High Commissioner to Britain Maleeha Lodhi as candidate for UN secretary general post.

HT Image

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz's name also did the rounds, The Nation newspaper said.

"After hectic consultations among the ruling circles, a decision was taken about Lodhi's candidature for the post of the UN secretary general," the newspaper said, quoting a senior official.

"As for the names of Prime Minister Aziz and Ambassador Munir Akram (permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN), it was all rumours, but the candidature of Nafis Sadik was considered," the official said, adding that their names were dropped because of the "age factor" and the decision was taken in favour of High Commissioner Lodhi.

Announcement regarding this vital decision was likely after the envoys conference is held this week from Monday to Thursday.

A well-known journalist, academician and diplomat, Lodhi had earlier served as ambassador to the US.

Before becoming a diplomat, she was the editor of an English daily.

Some media reports earlier suggested that Pakistan was unlikely to go in for a tit-for-tat nomination on India's bid for the post of UN secretary-general after it came up with the candidature of Shashi Tharoor as candidate for the secretary-general's job.

However, the official said that Pakistan would counter the Indian move and all possible efforts would be made for the success of Lodhi.