Palestine issue on a par with Kashmir: Gen Bajwa

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa Tuesday said Pakistan viewed the unresolved Palestine issue on a par with the Kashmir issue.

He said this while talking to Ambassador of the State of Palestine Walid A.M. Abu Ali who called on him at the General Headquarters here.

Ambassador Abu Ali thanked the COAS for Pakistan’s support to the Palestinian cause. General Bajwa reassured the ambassador that both issues had unequivocal public, moral and political support of the Pakistani nation and ‘we will continue to support the principled stance on both the issue regardless of the so-called reality of occupation.’ Mohammad Bin Abdullah Al-Aeysh, Deputy Defence Minister Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also met with General Bajwa.

Matters of regional security and enhanced bilateral defence cooperation were discussed.

The deputy defence minister appreciated the professional standing and performance of the Pakistan Army. Earlier this week, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had said that Jerusalem was the “eternal capital of the State of Palestine” in response to US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he was recognising the city as Israel’s capital. In a pre-recorded speech played on Palestine TV, Abbas had rejected Trump’s announcement, which included a decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, a move he said was “tantamount to the United States abdicating its role as a peace mediator.”

A statement from Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's office on December 7 stated that it is "deeply regrettable that pleas from states across the globe not to alter the legal and historical status of Al-Quds Al-Sharif have been ignored, more out of choice than necessity."

US President Donald Trump on December 6 recognised the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital violating decades of US policy.