Pakistan demands end to Israel’s aggression against Palestinians

DUBAI: Pakistan has once again demanded an immediate end to “Israel’s senseless violence and aggression against the Palestinians and creation of humanitarian corridor”, ARY News reported on Sunday.

In an interview to international news channel, Caretaker Prime Minister (PM) Anwaarul Haq Kakar noted “sustainable peace” was only possible through a two-state solution of the Palestine issue according to the pre-1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital.

The prime minister said Pakistan along with Saudi Arabia and other countries had been on the forefront on the platform of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) demanding immediate stopping of senseless violence and aggression against the Palestinians and creation of humanitarian corridor.

He said Pakistan was cognizant of its obligations to the refugees whom the country had hosted for the last 50 years however it was our national duty to rationalize and regulate the movement of more than a million undocumented and illegal aliens.

PM Kakar further said Jammu and Kashmir issue remained unresolved for the last 7 decades.

“It is an integral part of Pakistan and it needs to be resolved according to the UNSC resolutions,” he said adding that Pakistan desired peace and resolution of the Kashmir issue however these feelings must be reciprocated by the Indian authorities.

Israel carried out bombardments in Gaza on Sunday as international calls mounted for greater protection of civilians and the renewal of an expired truce with Hamas.

The Israeli army said it has conducted more than 400 strikes in Gaza since a ceasefire collapsed on Friday, while Hamas announced “rocket barrages” against multiple Israeli towns and cities including Tel Aviv.

United States Vice President Kamala Harris sharply rebuked on Saturday the rising civilian toll in Israel’s eight-week war, which was sparked by an unprecedented attack on October 7.

According to the United Nations, an estimated 1.7 million people in Gaza — more than two-thirds of the population — have been displaced by eight weeks of war.

Fadel Naim, chief doctor at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City, said his morgue had received 30 bodies on Saturday, including seven children.

‘Climate finance’

Responding to a question, PM Kakar said that Pakistan had been a strong voice and a proactive advocate for climate finance for developing countries that was fully acknowledged and accepted by the developed world in the United Nations’ 28th Conference of Parties (COP 28).

The prime minister said Loss and Damage Fund was advocated by Pakistan in COP27 to assist the developing countries in facing the climate challenges in terms of mitigation and risk reduction.

He added operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund was a testament that developed countries had morally accepted the argument that world must support those countries that were not responsible for the climate damage.

“Pakistan has always been advocating that the countries who have not contributed to the carbon emissions but remained one of the worst affected by the climate disaster must be compensated in terms of mitigation, climate adaptation and receiving climate finance to address all those challenges”, he added.

He said the operationlization of Loss and Damage Fund by announcement of US$30 billion by UAE was a good start in the right direction.

Initially, he said the funding should be utilised through multi-lateral organization like the World Bank to swiftly start the implementation process.