ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday praised Spain, Norway and Ireland for their decision to recognize the state of Palestine, hoping that the international community will “pay the same amount of attention” to the plight of the people of Kashmir. 

The prime ministers of Ireland, Spain and Norway announced on Wednesday they would formally recognize Palestine as a state on May 28, following recent recognitions by Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas. The additions have brought the total number of countries recognizing the Palestinian state to nearly 150.

In a telephonic conversation with Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Store on Sunday night, PM Sharif appreciated Norway’s “principled stance,” adding that it would send a message of hope and solidarity to the people of Kashmir suffering continuous bombardment at Israel’s hands. 

“I expressed my hope that this bold, principled decision by Norway, Spain, and Ireland will encourage other countries to recognize the State of Palestine,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X from his official account that shares updates in Arabic. 

“We hope the international community will pay the same amount of attention to the suffering and tragedy of Kashmiris who have been suffering from oppression and brutal occupation for 76 years.”

The Himalayan region of Kashmir has been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan since 1947 when the two countries gained independence from British colonial India. The nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors have fought two out of three wars over Kashmir. 
Both countries claim the territory in full but administer parts of it. The western portion of the larger Kashmir region is administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entity.
On Aug. 5 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi withdrew Indian-administered Kashmir’s autonomy in a move that was seen by analysts as a strategy to tighten his grip over the territory. The decision provoked outrage in Pakistan and triggered the downgrading of diplomatic ties and suspension of bilateral trade between the two countries. 
Israel’s war on Gaza has sparked international condemnation from rights activists and organizations and countries around the world. Israel’s constant bombardment has killed nearly 36,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its count. 
Around 80 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have fled their homes while severe hunger is widespread and UN officials say parts of the territory are experiencing famine.

Israel says Hamas triggered the war with its Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, in which Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people and seized some 250 hostages. Hamas still holds some 100 hostages after many were released during a ceasefire last year.

ISLAMABAD: Police in Pakistan’s eastern Sargodha district said recently it has finalized “hyper security” arrangements at churches following last week’s mob attack against the Christian community that left one person critically injured. 

Violence erupted in Sargodha city on Saturday when a furious mob targeted members of the Christian community after some people accused their Christian neighbor of desecrating the Holy Qur’an. The house and a small shoemaking factory owned and operated by the man were burned down in the ensuing rampage, which was followed by police action that led to clashes with angry protesters.

The incident came within a year after another attack on the Christian community in August 2023, when a mob in Jaranwala city burned churches and targeted several houses in a similar incident involving blasphemy allegations.

“Sargodha police have completed arrangements for the hyper security of churches across the district,” Sargodha Police wrote on social media platform X. It added that over 1,000 police officers and youths were performing duties at important churches in the district. 

Saturday’s attack was condemned by rights activists and Pakistan’s leading human rights body, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). Pakistani Christian rights activists protested against the attack on Saturday in Karachi, raising alarm over the safety of minorities in the South Asian country. 

“As a 27-year-old Pakistani Christian who has never been abroad since the day I was born to the moment I’m standing here, I and every Christian who calls themselves Pakistani live under fear, under pressure and under the constant threat of being, God forbid, accused of committing blasphemy,” Luke Victor, a rights activist and one of the organizers of the Karachi demonstration, said. 

Blasphemy is an incendiary charge in deeply conservative, Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even unproven allegations of insulting Islam have provoked deadly vigilantism.

Christians, who make up around two percent of Pakistan’s population, occupy one of the lowest rungs in society and are frequently targeted with spurious blasphemy allegations.
Politicians have also been assassinated, lawyers murdered and students lynched over such accusations.