Approval of Pakistan’s Claim for Extension of Continental Shelf, Statement by the Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs
It is of great satisfaction for us that Pakistan’sclaim at the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), for extension of outer limits of itscontinental shelf, has been unanimously approved. As a consequence of this landmark development, Pakistan has been granted an additional area of approximately 50,000 square kilometers. Pakistan will have exclusive rights for exploitation and exploration of resourcesat and beneath the seabed in this area in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.This development willboost our efforts aimed at sustainable socio-economic uplift of the people of Pakistan.
The approval at the United Nations is the result of sustained, dedicated and very well-coordinated diplomatic and technical efforts by concerned Pakistani departments at various levels including national and international.
Pakistan had submitted its claim to the CLCS in April, 2009.
We are thankful to the brotherly country of Oman for its understanding and cooperation in the matter.
Islamabad
20 March 2015