UN top job: Pak unsure of fielding cadidate

Foreign Office has termed reports that it plans to field Shaukat Aziz against India's Shashi Tharoor as 'speculation'.

Pakistan on Friday termed as 'speculation' reports that it plans to field Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz or some high profile candidate against India's nominee Shashi Tharoor for the UN Secretary-General post.

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"It is all speculation at the moment," Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said when asked about reports that Islamabad plans to field Aziz, who had previously served as Vice President of City Bank, for the UN top post.

Pakistan's UN Ambassador Munir Akram had said on Thursday that Islamabad was giving 'serious consideration' to field a candidate.

"We have also been giving serious consideration to field a candidate but no decision has yet been taken," he told reporters in New York.

The Pakistan Foreign Office also declined to say whether Islamabad was mulling any other name including that of Akram, who last year spearheaded a campaign to oppose India's bid for permanent seat in the UN Security Council along with Germany, Brazil and Japan.

Media reports in Islamabad, however, suggested that with India backing Tharoor, currently the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Pakistan should carefully weigh its options.