The young man looked per­plexed. So did I when he asked me a couple of ques­tions I never reflected on dur­ing my 35 years in the For­eign Office. To protect his career, I shall not reveal his name. However, this bright fellow has start­ed his career in the Min­istry of Foreign Affairs after clearing the Central Superior Services (CSS) exam recently. This was his second visit to me. A few years back, he came to me to understand the dynam­ics of the CSS exam as well as the foreign policy of Pakistan. He did well in the exam and got his first choice. The two-hour session saw us trying to find answers to a few intriguing questions.

Officer: Looking at the Gaza sit­uation, the UN’s helplessness speaks volumes about the organi­zation’s ineffectiveness. Add into it the Ukraine war and you have a recipe of utter dismay. Millions of dollars are being spent on the UN staff to produce impractical doc­uments. I don’t think the world needs the UN anymore. In addi­tion, the kind of convoluted lan­guage they use - it makes me sick.

Me: What do you mean by con­voluted language? They are the ex­perts in the field.

Officer: After noting, welcoming, recalling, reaffirming, highlighting, commending, stressing the need for, and echoing God knows what, they call upon both sides to contin­ue to engage. What does it mean in reality? Subsequently, they would urge for the implementation of some document and request the Secretary-General to submit a re­port thereon before deciding to re­main seized of the matter. Mean­while, a........

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