close
Saturday October 12, 2024

Pakistan calls for UNSC to take quick measures to end genocide of Palestinians

FO expresses grave concerns over fresh large-scale military incursion by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank

By Web Desk
August 29, 2024
Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch is addressing her weekly press briefing in Islamabad on August 29, 2024. —Screengrab/ Geo News
Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch is addressing her weekly press briefing in Islamabad on August 29, 2024. —Screengrab/ Geo News

Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on Thursday reiterated Pakistan’s call for the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to take urgent steps to put an end to the genocide of Palestinian people and halt Israel’s flagrant breaches of international laws and the UN Charter.

Addressing media in Islamabad, the FO spokesperson said Israel's continuous violations of international humanitarian law included airstrikes and drone operations on civilian areas, over which it should be held accountable for war crimes.

Israeli forces' indiscriminate strikes in just the Gaza Strip has killed more than 40,534 people and injured about 94,000 others since October 2023.

Meanwhile, Baloch also expressed country’s grave concerns over the fresh large-scale military incursion by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.

She said the attack was another blatant violation of international law, including the 4th Geneva Convention, which prohibited indiscriminate targeting of civilians.

Israel launched a large-scale operation Wednesday in the occupied West Bank, killing at least 11 Palestinians, as the nearly 11-month-old Gaza war showed no signs of abating.

Children were among those killed, according to the United Nations, while Hamas said the fatalities included three members of its armed wing in the Jenin refugee camp.

The spokesperson reiterated Pakistan’s strong condemnation of the bombing of the historic Grand Mosque in Khan Younis by Israeli forces, and said the assault on a place of deep cultural and religious significance was a clear violation of international laws and the Hague Convention.

Highlighting the diplomatic engagements during this week, she mentioned Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi’s visit to Cameroon where he is leading a Pakistani delegation at the 50th session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFMs).

At the CFMs, he would share Pakistan’s perspective on genocide in Gaza, dire humanitarian situation and Israeli adventurism in the region threatening regional peace. He will also highlight the Indian atrocities in IIOJK, the issues of Islamophobia and climate change.

Meanwhile, the eighth session of the Pakistan-Oman Bilateral Political Consultations was held in Muscat, Oman earlier this week.

The talks were co-chaired by Additional Foreign Secretary (Middle East), Ambassador Shehryar Akbar Khan and Ambassador Sheikh Ahmad bin Hashil bin Rashid Al Maskari, the Chief of GCC and Regional Neighborhood Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman.

The two sides comprehensively reviewed all aspects of bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Oman including political relations, trade and investment, security and defence, culture, health and consular matters.

The two sides also expressed serious concerns on Israel’s war on Gaza and the genocide of the Palestinian people. They stressed the need for an urgent and unconditional ceasefire and reiterated the call for the creation of a viable, sovereign and contiguous Palestinian State.