Year on, Pakistan demands Gaza ceasefire, Israel’s accountability as 42,000 lives lost
Celina Ali
Islamabad: As a year of Israel’s barbarism in Palestine completes on Monday (October 7) marking the killing of around 42,000 Palestinians, overwhelmingly women and children, Pakistan urged the UN Security Council to act decisively to impose an immediate and permanent ceasefire and hold Israel accountable for its war crimes.
“The past year has seen Israel’s indiscriminate and horrifying attacks on civilian targets, including hospitals, schools, and shelters… We call upon the UN Security Council to act decisively and impose an immediate and permanent ceasefire, protecting the people of Gaza,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at her weekly press briefing.
Referring to the recent Israeli airstrikes on Khalifa Bin Zayed School in Northern Gaza, a mosque in Central Gaza, and a refugee camp, killing innocent civilians, including children and women, she said such attacks represented war crimes being committed by Israeli occupation forces.
She also reiterated the call for holding Israel accountable for its crimes and crimes against humanity.
About the upcoming 23rd meeting of the Council of the Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states being hosted by Pakistan on October 15-16, 2024, she said that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif would preside over the moot as the current Chair of the CHG.
The CHG, the second highest decision-making body of SCO, will discuss cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, environment, and sociocultural linkages as well as reviewing the performance of the organization.
“Since becoming a member in 2017, Pakistan has worked consistently and constructively to strengthen good neighbourly relations and mutually beneficial cooperation among SCO member states. The hosting of CHG by Pakistan reflects the abiding commitment of Pakistan to the purposes and principles of the SCO Charter and the values of the Shanghai Spirit,” the spokesperson remarked.
The spokesperson strongly condemned the terrorist attack near the Karachi airport on Sunday night killing two Chinese engineers and injuring another.
“This barbaric acts will not go unpunished. Pakistan security and law enforcement agencies will spare no effort in apprehending the perpetrators and their facilitators. This act of terrorism is an attack not only on Pakistan but also on the enduring friendship between Pakistan and China. We will bring to justice those responsible for this cowardly attack, including the Majeed Brigade,” she reiterated.
She reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to the safety and security of Chinese nationals, projects, and institutions in Pakistan and continuously working hand in hand with China to defeat the forces of terror.
Coming to the situation in Kashmir, she expressed concerns as a tribunal handling under the Unlawful Activities Act, had upheld the Indian home ministry’s decision to extend the ban on the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) as an unlawful association for an additional five years.
She urged the Indian authorities to immediately release the incarcerated JKLF leader Yasin Malik and lift the ban on him and JKLF and other political parties, besides reiterating Pakistan’s continuous political, diplomatic, and moral support to the Kashmiri people.
Spokesperson Baloch told the media that a high-level Saudi delegation, comprising representatives from a wide spectrum of government agencies and private sector entities, and led by Minister for Investment Engineer Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih would visit Pakistan from October 9-11, 2024, and meet with the president and the prime minister of Pakistan.
She said the visit aimed to lend positive impetus to enhance bilateral cooperation and mutually rewarding economic partnership.
Regarding the recent visit of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, she mentioned his interactions with Prime Minister Shehbaz, President Asif Ali Zardari and participation in the Malaysia-Pakistan High-Level Business Dialogue. Besides signing two MoUs on trade cooperation and telecommunication capacity building, both sides also discussed a wide range of bilateral, regional, and global issues of mutual interest.
She told the media that the sixth meeting of the Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan, held in Moscow, also attended by Pakistan, expressed concern over the security situation in Afghanistan, noting the continued threat posed by terrorist and separatist groups to global and regional stability. The participants emphasised the need for Afghanistan to take measures to combat terror and prevent its territory from being used against neighbouring countries and the wider region.
