Pakistan loses re-election bid for UN Human Rights Council

United Nations: Pakistan lost its bid on Tuesday to be re-elected to the UN Human Rights Council when its current term ends this year. It polled just 105 votes in the 193-member General Assembly.

Pakistan was considering running for the Council's presidency next year, according to diplomatic sources, and had been putting out feelers. The defeat deals Islamabad a diplomatic set-back as it seeks to burnish its international reputation.

Islamabad ran for one of the five slots this year for Asian and Pacific nations on the Council for which there were seven contestants.