Leaders complain of inadequate support for Palestinians

Islamabad : Pakistani and Palestinian political leaders on Thursday complained of inadequate support for the Palestine cause from the Muslim countries and warned the Muslim leaders against internal divisions saying Ummah’s fragmentation served the Zionist agenda.

They were speaking at a virtual dialogue hosted by Islamabad Policy Institute (IPI) on ‘Palestine: A call for action’, says a press release. The event held in the wake of the latest flare-up in the Palestinian territories due to Israeli aggression was attended by Pakistan government representatives and senior leaders of Pakistan’s major political parties, who deliberated on how Muslim countries could practically help the Palestinians in this situation.

Chairman, Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, who also chaired the meeting, urged efforts for immediate ceasing of Israeli aggression, initiating efforts to break blockade of Gaza including possibility of a flotilla of ships of various countries carrying medicines and food for besieged Gaza, and despatch of humanitarian assistance to oppressed Palestinians.

He called for initiating war crimes trials against Israel as its forces targeted non-military installations including civilians and media.

Therefore, Mr. Mushahid suggested a joint diplomatic initiative on Palestine led by Pakistan along with Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Nigeria or any other likeminded country. He also slammed the US double standards and hypocrisy on Palestine.

Government’s special representative on Religious Harmony and Middle East Tahir Ashrafi called for a national policy on Palestine and Kashmir issues, which is above party lines so that a strong voice on these issues could emerge from here.

He said Pakistan should not become part of any intra-Arab or intra-Palestinian factionalism, which he feared could weaken the support for Palestine cause.

Ashrafi regretted that there were bigger demonstrations in the West in support of the Palestinians than in the Muslim world. However, he said, it was reassuring that in the past couple of weeks Saudi Arabia had become actively involved in the issue and is “aggressively supporting the Palestine issue now”.