ISLAMABAD, August 1: Pakistan strongly condemned Israel’s continuing adventurism in the region and urged its backers to prevail on Israel to end its unlawful military operations in violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries in the region.
Speaking at her weekly media briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the Chief of the Political Bureau of Hamas, in Tehran, was an act of dangerous escalation in an already volatile region and undermines efforts for peace.
“We express our condolences to his family and the Palestinian people. His killers must be held to account,” she said.
Asked about Pakistan’s response on the circumstances under which the top Hamas leader was assassinated, she said that Pakistan is waiting for the investigation before making any comment. “We have complete confidence that Iranian authorities are investigating this heinous act and they will share the findings of the probe,” she said.
Baloch also stated that Pakistan strongly condemns Israel’s continuing adventurism in the region and its aggression against Lebanon with its strikes of 30th July 2024, adding that Israel’s military aggression in Beirut is a grievous infringement on Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“This attack on civilian areas is a blatant violation of international law and the United Nations Charter. Pakistan stands in solidarity with the people of Lebanon and reaffirms its support for their right to live in peace and security and to enjoy their sovereignty,” she said.
On 30th July, Israel carried out a strike in Beirut, Lebanon, on a building in which a senior military commander of Hezbollah was killed along with four people and two children.
“Targeting individuals inside sovereign states is a violation of international law and global norms. Such acts carry the seeds of further escalation. It is yet another demonstration of indiscriminate and disproportionate Israeli aggression that has continued unabated to the detriment of regional and global peace and security,” Baloch said.
She said that Israel’s latest actions in the region represent a dangerous expansion of hostilities that undermines efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.
“Israel must be held accountable for its transgressions and actions. Israeli’s extraterritorial acts have endangered regional security. The backers of Israel should prevail on Israel to end its unlawful military operations in violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries in the region,” she emphasised.
Since October 2023, Israel has unleashed a campaign of terror against the Palestinian people, she said, adding that its war on Gaza and the inhumane siege in violation of international human rights and humanitarian law have resulted in misery, death and destruction.
“These acts constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. We call upon the United Nations to uphold international law and to bring an end to the genocide of the people of Gaza,” she said.
Baloch also reiterated Pakistan’s support for the realisation of the inalienable right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, their right of return to Palestine and the establishment of an independent state of Palestine with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
However, she avoided to declare the State of Israel as a terrorist state when Pakistan’s official response was sought on a federal minister’s comments that Israel is a terrorist state which came following “agreement” between the government of Pakistan and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) protesters recently.
“I would like to reiterate what we said last time. Pakistan has expressed serious concerns about the Israel’s war on Gaza and the genocide that is taking place in Gaza. We have expressed support for the case that has been brought by South Africa at the ICJ, calling for the ICJ’s decision regarding genocide taking place in Gaza,” she said.
She added that Pakistan believes that the actions that Israel is taking in Gaza and in Palestinian territories are a violation of international humanitarian law, and the Israeli forces have continued in war crimes and crimes against humanity. “Pakistan has also called for holding Israel accountable for those war crimes,” she added.
When her comments were sought on Foreign Office’s initial statement with regard to reaction on Hamas leader’s assassination in which it had referred to “Israeli adventurism”, but later the term “Israeli adventurism” was omitted, she explained that the Foreign Office’s public statements correspond to the developments that take place internationally, “especially in cases where the developments are taking place at fast pace and new information is coming in.”
“That is a general statement that I wanted to make. Secondly, with regards to the development that took place yesterday in Iran, the killing of the Chief of political bureau of Hamas, I just made a comprehensive statement on the incident. We have condemned the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh. We have extended our condolences to his family and to the people of Palestine in our statement. We also condemn Israel adventurism in the region and the acts that it is taking against its neighbours, including the attack against Lebanon on the 30th of June,” she said.
“We believe all these acts, including the genocide that is taking place in Gaza, are dangerous developments for this region. We also believe that Israel should be held to account for its war crimes in Gaza and occupied Palestinian territories,” she added.
Commenting on the 34th report of UN Monitoring Team, she said that the report endorses the view that TTP has intensified its attacks inside Pakistan that the TTP has support structures in Afghanistan.
“We have also noted that the report contains the view that TTP could transform into an extra-regional threat, as well as an umbrella organisation for other terrorist groups,” she said, adding that the report points out that TTP operatives and its new recruits are being trained in Afghanistan.
“This endorses what we have been saying for the last several months, that Afghanistan has hideouts and sanctuaries for terrorist groups, including the TTP, that continue to threaten Pakistan’s security. We urge Afghanistan to take immediate, effective and robust action against these terror groups, especially the TTP, and to ensure that Afghan territory is not used as a staging ground for terrorism against Pakistan,” she added.
Commenting on the recent statement by Iranian embassy which condemned the situation in Parachinar, the spokesperson termed the statement with regard to Pakistan’s domestic affairs as unwarranted.
“First, killing of any human being is a tragedy. Pakistan values the life dignity and property of all its nationals. As a multi-cultural and multi-faith society, Pakistan is fully determined to foster social harmony, tolerance and mutual respect. Such statements about Pakistan domestic affairs are, therefore, unwarranted. While details may be sought from the Ministry of Interior about the developments, we believe that these statements are based on an incomplete picture of the situation in Parachinar,” she added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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