Larbi Djacta, chairperson of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), notified the staff members concerned that they were allowed to travel to Pakistan with their families.
According to the notification, the UN’s policy discontinuing Islamabad’s status as a ‘Non-family Duty Stations’ (NFDS) went into effect on June 14.
The letter stated that this decision was made on the recommendation of the Under-Secretary General of the United Nations Department for Safety and Security after the officials concerned had conducted a thorough security evaluation of the capital city.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Pakistan’s Representative to the UN Maleeha Lodhi welcomed the decision as a ‘positive development’.
The previously implemented NFDS status meant that all eligible dependants of UN international personnel were restricted from staying in Islamabad for a period of six months or longer due to security risks.
