Rabat – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Pakistan’s Major General Jawwad Ahmed on August 11 as the new Force Commander of the UN peacekeeping operation in Western Sahara, MINURSO.
Ahmed is succeeding Major General Md Fakhrul Ahsan of Bangladesh, who completed his assignment on August 2, 2026.
A statement from the UN said Guterres is “grateful” to Ahsan, describing his service and leadership at MINURSO as “exemplary.”
The UN also recalled the extensive experience that Ahmed is bringing to the position, as he boasts 35 years of leadership and operational experience in the Pakistan Army and UN peacekeeping.
Ahmed also served as director general in the Ministry of Defense in Rawalpindi, where he oversaw command and control, local governance, and administration of cantonment areas nationwide.
He was also the general officer commanding of an infantry division, as well as the general director of the Inspection and Evaluation Directorate at General Headquarters and Force Commander Northern Areas.
Other senior appointments where Ahmed also took charge include Brigade Commander in cantonments and in the field area at high-altitude regions and chief instructor at the National Command and Staff College, Quetta.
He holds a Master of Science in the art and science of warfare and a Master of Philosophy in public policy and strategic security management from the National Defense University in Pakistan.
MINURSO is a peacekeeping operations that monitor the ceasefire and Polisario’s breaches in Morocco’s southern provinces. Annually, UNSGC issues a report on the situation in the Sahara in October, evaluating MINURSO’s activities.
Recently, Trump’s administration announced plans to review peacekeeping forces, including MINURSO.
“We’re looking at a strategic review of the peacekeeping force in Western Sahara that has been there for 50 years.”
The US strategy aims to ensure that operations do not continue “indefinitely” without results.
The announcement comes as Morocco’s position on Western Sahara continues to gain momentum, with the US seeing the Autonomy Plan as the only feasible political solution able to end the dispute.
The US also sees it’s time to end the dispute, which has been lingering for 50 years as Algeria’s regime continues to hamper the UN-led political process.
Algeria backs, arms, finances, and hosts the Polisario Front in an attempt to undermine Morocco’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over its southern provinces.
Despite its direct involvement, Algeria continues to refuse to shoulder responsibility in the dispute, describing itself as a mere observer and neighboring country rather than the main party to the dispute.
This comes despite UN Security Council Resolution 2797, which has explicitly urged and named Algeria as a main party to the dispute, calling on Algiers to shoulder its responsibility and contribute to the UN-led political process to end the dispute.
