Pakistan opposes US President Trump's Jerusalem move: FO

ISLAMABAD: Opposing the US President Donald Trump’s Jerusalem move, Pakistan has expressed its concern over implications of this decision for international peace and security, the Foreign Office said in a statement issued on Wednesday night.

“Pakistan opposes the US President Donald Trump’s plan to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,” the FO said in the statement.

Trump’s decision to recognise the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital came late on Wednesday night, upending decades of careful US policy and ignoring dire warnings of a historic misstep that could trigger a surge of violence in the Middle East.

“I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” Trump said from the White House.

“It’s right thing to do,” he asserted.

Expressing concerns over the move, the Foreign Office Spokesman said this move by United States would definitely undermine the efforts of enduring peace in the Middle East.

“Any such move will be against international law and the resolutions of the UN’s security council,” the spokesman added.

The spokesman called upon the US officials to fully implement UN Security Council’s resolutions and refrain from changing the historic and legal position of Jerusalem.

The spokesman reiterated Pakistan’s resolve to express solidarity with the people of Palestine, adding that Pakistan fully endorses the concluding statement of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the move.

The leaders of many Islamic countries including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, besides France, Germany and the European Union have also warned Trump against the move.