ISLAMABAD: Despite reliable reports that Pakistan will not field anyone for the United Nations Secretary-General post, speculation that it may put up its envoy to the United Kingdom, Maleeha Lodhi, as a candidate refuses to die.

On Tuesday, Condoleeza Rice was asked at a press briefing here if, as a "very elegant lady U.S Secretary of State" she would like to see a "lady secretary-general" at the United Nations.

Ms. Rice was non-committal about her gender preference for the top job at the U.N., but spoke about the qualities she would hope for in Kofi Annan's successor. "Well, I'm all for women being in any and every position possible. But I think that the role of Secretary-General is — that the question of who will become Secretary-General will be dealt with over the next couple of months," she said.

Ms. Rice said the U.S. had not made any decisions about who should next occupy that post.

"I myself am just hoping that it is a Secretary-General who is very committed to U.N. reform. The U.N. is an extremely important institution ... but it's also an institution that, so to speak, is showing its age. It's been in existence now long enough that a lot has grown up that makes it less effective. We really do need to have U.N. reform and I'm hoping that some of those management reforms will even take place over the next couple of weeks. And one of the points that I will make to my Pakistani colleagues is that we hope to have the support of Pakistan and other G-77 countries for serious reforms of the United Nations," she said.

But Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri prodded her to respond to the gender aspect of the question.

`Gender-neutral'

"[The journalist] wanted to know if you are partial to a woman Secretary-General," he said.

Ms. Rice said: "I heard that. And I'm gender-neutral, although obviously I like to see women in any position."

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