By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar affirmed Pakistan’s solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine on Monday, calling for an immediate ceasefire. A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, shared on X (formerly Twitter), expressed Pakistan’s concern for the ongoing violence and loss of life in Gaza.
“We stand in solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine and call for an immediate ceasefire and lifting of the blockade in Gaza. Israel’s deliberate, indiscriminate and disproportionate targeting of civil-ians in Gaza is against all norms of civility and in manifest violation of international law,” it read.
The statement further urged everyone to see the breakout of violence in the context of years of “forced and illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and repressive policies against its people” and not in isolation.
PM Kakar called on the United Nations and the international community to prepare for aid and relief supplies to reach Gaza safely. “The UN and international community must immediately act to open safe and unrestricted humanitarian corridors for the transportation of urgently needed relief supplies to the besieged Gaza.”
It also added that Pakistan is closely coordinating with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and its member states on the fast-deteriorating situation in Gaza. Furthermore, the official statement shared that Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani will be rep-resenting Pakistan at the emergency meeting of OIC’s executive committee on October 18. He will call for urgent action to alleviate the suffering of the people of Gaza, read the statement. A day ago, Jilani called out Israel for committing genocide against the people of Palestine as atrocities in Gaza continue to rage on.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, he described the current situation as a consequence of “seven decades of illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories”.
Israel committed aggression and conducted aerial attacks over Gaza, resulting in the deaths of scores of women and children, said Jillani, adding that any attempt to equate Israel, an aggressor, with the Palestinians’ struggle for self-determination is “unacceptable”.
He categorically maintained that there was no change in Pakistan’s policy regarding Israel. It would con-tinue pursuing the same policy adopted in the past and would continue to do so until the Palestinians attain their right to self-determination under United Nations Security Council and Organization of Is-lamic Cooperation (OIC) resolutions, he said.
The interim minister reiterated that Pakistan condemns the siege of Gaza as the Palestinian people continue to face unabated Israeli aggression while deprived of water, food and power. The situation has led to a severe human crisis, he said.
Jillani asserted that Israel should respect and implement international laws, the UNSC and the OIC res-olutions over Palestinians’ right to self-determination for an independent state.
FM Jilani further stressed on the separate status of Palestine under the two-state policy accepted by the international community, with an independent state of Palestine having pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
