United Nations (TDI): Pakistan has drawn the international community’s attention to the increased security threats posed by the proliferation of military AI technologies, especially autonomous weapons, warning that their use could trigger new arms races and destabilize global and regional security.
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, in his statement during the General Debate of the United Nations Disarmament Commission 2025, emphasized to prevent AI from fueling a weapons race, which could threaten world peace and security.
“The scale and novelty of AI’s military implications need a multifaceted, holistic and multilateral response. We believe that the UN should play a central role in global response to challenges associated with AI in military domain,” he said.
He added that the use of AI in the military domain presents security, operational, technical, ethical, normative, and legal challenges, especially concerning compliance with International Humanitarian Law.
The envoy advocated prioritizing the consolidation of the initiatives over selective approaches and fragmentation, adding that the UN provides the best universal platform for these discussions to ensure legitimacy and inclusivity with equitable participation of all member nations.
Recalling the First Special Session of the General Assembly devoted to Disarmament (SSOD-I) in 1978, he said that nuclear disarmament remains the highest priority of the United Nations Disarmament Commission since its inception.
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The Pakistani ambassador, however, noted a clear lack of progress on nuclear disarmament.
He said that on the other side, hundreds of billions of dollars are being committed to nuclear modernization programs.
Ambassador Iftikhar said that we are witnessing unprecedented increase in military budgets in recent memory, fueling ever-increasing arms race, which is now turbocharged by technological advancements.
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He highlighted Pakistan’s deep concern on the discriminatory policies followed by certain nations in the nuclear domain.
The envoy said that resultantly “the international security environment continues to deteriorate. The relentless pursuit of power and geopolitical competition has intensified in recent years, taking us further away from this important global priority.”
