RAWALPINDI, May 24: The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Thursday dismissed as misleading a BBC report alleging that Pakistani peacekeeping troops traded gold for guns in Congo and armed the militia they were supposed to disarm.

Referring to the allegations against UN peacekeepers including some Pakistanis, a spokesman for the ISPR said that Pakistan’s permanent mission in New York was informed by the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (UNDPKO) on May 22 that BBC had contacted them for a story on some allegations, which were being investigated.

They were informed that at this stage these were mere allegations, which have to be investigated to ascertain facts.

Mr Kamal Saiki, spokesman for UN peacekeeping mission in Congo (MONUC), has also denied the allegations saying they were being investigated.

“UN investigations cannot be blocked nor can UN police be surrounded by UN peacekeeping troops and go unnoticed. This is why Ambassador William Swing, chief of the UN mission in Congo, has also emphatically denied the charges,” he said.

He said that Pakistan had been one of the largest troop contributors to UN peacekeeping operations worldwide and our services were very well known.