Highlighting Palestinian people\u2019s suffering of \u201chistoric proportions\u201d, Pakistan Tuesday called on the UN Security Council to act decisively to uphold human dignity, ensure accountability and deliver justice, while underscoring a two-State solution for the Middle East peace.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe time for words has passed; the time for action is now,\u201d Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar told the 15-member Council on the Middle East situation, especially in besieged Gaza.<\/p>\n
The Council meeting came on the heels of the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, which on 22 September further galvanized broad international support for the rights and sovereignty of a Palestinian State.<\/p>\n
DPM\/FM commended the recent recognitions of Palestine by numerous member states, saying that Pakistan had the honour to be among the first few countries to recognize Palestine, following the declaration of independence in 1988.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis positive momentum must be sustained with resolute determination, seriousness of purpose, and an unwavering commitment to achieving a just and lasting solution,\u201d he said. \u201cThe people of Palestine are facing a crisis of historic proportion, the suffering is a stain on our collective consciousness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gaza has become a graveyard for humanity and the global conscience, Dar said, as he reaffirmed Pakistan\u2019s unwavering support for the Palestinian people in their just struggle for dignity, justice, and self-determination, through the establishment of a sovereign, independent, and contiguous Palestinian State on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.<\/p>\n
In this regard, he called for an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire; unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza and the immediate lifting of the blockade to allow life-saving aid to reach those in need; an end to any forced displacement of Palestinians from their lands, while upholding the right of return for refugees, and establishing an international protection mechanism.<\/p>\n
Opening the debate, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, \u201cWe are confronting one of the darkest chapters of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, noting that violence has only escalated across the Occupied Palestinian Territory nearly two years after the Israeli war in Gaza. The onslaught in Gaza City, he warned, is deepening an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis, trapping civilians and hostages \u201cunder relentless bombardment and deprived of food, water, electricity and medicine\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cFamine is a reality,\u201d the UN chief emphasized, with people constantly displaced and starving. \u201cTo call this situation untenable and morally and legally indefensible does not begin to capture the scale of human suffering.\u201d Despite repeated appeals for an immediate permanent ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and unhindered humanitarian access, UN resolutions continue to be ignored and international humanitarian law violated.<\/p>\n
Violence from Gaza is spreading into the Occupied West Bank and other countries in the region, he said, citing the 9 September Israeli attack in Qatar, which violated that country\u2019s sovereignty and undermined efforts by Qatar, Egypt and the United States to secure a ceasefire and hostage release.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe viability of a two-State solution is steadily eroding,\u201d he warned, citing relentless settlement-expansion, de facto annexation, forced displacement and cycles of deadly violence, including by extremist settlers. Israel\u2019s recent approval of settlement construction in the E1 area is \u201cespecially alarming\u201d, he said, stressing that \u201cIsraeli settlements are not just a political issue \u2014 they are a flagrant violation of international law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Highlighting Palestinian people\u2019s suffering of \u201chistoric proportions\u201d, Pakistan Tuesday called on the UN Security Council to act decisively to uphold human dignity, ensure accountability and deliver justice, while underscoring a two-State solution for the Middle East peace. \u201cThe time for words has passed; the time for action is now,\u201d Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":504706,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-504695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-top-news"],"yoast_head":"\n