ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s political parties on Wednesday reiterated their longstanding position on the Palestine dispute, saying they would never recognize Israel as an independent state following an explanation from Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on the subject a day earlier in the National Assembly.
“Pakistan consistently supports a two-state solution with the pre-1967 Palestinian borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif [Jerusalem] as its capital,” the foreign minister said in response to a point of order raised by an opposition lawmaker, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, in parliament on Tuesday.
Asif had demanded the foreign minister to clarify the government’s position on the issue of Palestine and Kashmir, the two internationally recognized disputed territories for decades.
“Pakistan has neither changed nor deviated from its historical stance on the issue of Palestine,” the foreign minister said, adding that the ruling party’s position on the disputed territory was the same as that of the opposition parties, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
Islamabad has always supported the Palestinian cause for a free and independent state in a contested region of the world that is considered sacred by both Muslims and Jews. More than 135 United Nations member countries recognize Palestine as an independent state, but Israel and some other countries, including the United States, do not make this distinction. On the other hand, many Muslim countries including Pakistan do not recognize Israel as an independent state.
“It is part of our faith to stand by the Palestinians against Israeli oppression, and we’ll continue doing this without any hesitation,” Senator Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, chairman PML-N, told Arab News on Wednesday.
He said that there was a “national consensus” on the Palestinian issue and “no government or political party can deviate from it.”
Recalling the historical importance of the issue, Haq recalled that the founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, fully supported the Palestinians in his numerous speeches and statements. “The issue of Palestine is part of our basic ideology, and we are bound to protect interests of the Palestinians,” he said.
In a bid to resolve the decades-old conflict, US President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” plan, announced on Jan. 28, referred to Jerusalem as “Israel’s undivided capital” and recognized Israeli sovereignty over large parts of the West Bank.
The plan drew widespread criticism from the Arab world and was rejected by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which urged “all member states not to engage with this plan or to cooperate with the US administration in implementing it in any form.”
Sehar Kamran, a senior PPP leader, said that her party had always stood with the Palestinians and would expect the government to raise the issue at all international forums including the United Nations.
“We are firmly supporting the Palestinian cause, and there is no way that any political party, let alone the PPP, can think of recognizing Israel as an independent state,” she told Arab News on Wednesday.
Kamran urged the government to stand by its position on Palestine “as per the aspirations of the people of Pakistan.” “It’s good to know that the foreign minister has eloquently rebuffed rumors about recognition of Israel,” she added.
The country’s religio-political parties also supported the government’s stance of a two-state solution with Jerusalem as Palestine’s capital.
“There are no ifs and buts when it comes to Palestine,” Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali, a Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) lawmaker, told Arab News on Wednesday. “The whole parliament and the people of Pakistan will continue to support our Palestinian brothers and sisters in their just struggle for freedom and civil rights,” he said.
Pakistan supports Palestinian state with Jerusalem as capital
https://arab.news/n3per
Pakistan supports Palestinian state with Jerusalem as capital
- There is a ‘national consensus’ in the country to support the Palestinian cause, says the PML-N chairman
- Foreign Minister says the ruling party’s position on Palestine was in line with the opposition parties
US freezes visa processing for 75 countries, media reports Pakistan included
- State Department announces indefinite pause on immigrant visas starting Jan 21
- Move underscores Trump’s hard-line immigration push despite close Pakistan-US ties
ISLAMABAD: The United States will pause immigrant visa processing for applicants from 75 countries starting Jan. 21, the State Department said on Wednesday, with Fox News and other media outlets reporting that Pakistan is among the countries affected by the indefinite suspension.
The move comes as the Trump administration presses ahead with a broad immigration crackdown, with Pakistan included among the affected countries despite strong ongoing diplomatic engagement between Islamabad and Washington on economic cooperation, regional diplomacy and security matters.
Fox News, citing an internal State Department memo, said US embassies had been instructed to refuse immigrant visas under existing law while Washington reassesses screening and vetting procedures. The report said the pause would apply indefinitely and covers countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America.
“The State Department will pause immigrant visa processing from 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the US can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” the Department of State said in a post on X.
According to Fox News and Pakistan news outlets like Dawn, the list of affected countries includes Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Russia, Somalia, Brazil and Thailand, among others.
“The suspension could delay travel, study, and work plans for thousands of Pakistanis who annually seek US visas. Pakistani consulates in the US are expected to provide guidance to affected applicants in the coming days,” Dawn reported.
A State Department spokesman declined comment when Arab News reached out via email to confirm if Pakistan was on the list.
The Department has not publicly released the full list of countries or clarified which visa categories would be affected, nor has it provided a timeline for when processing could resume.
Trump has made immigration enforcement a central pillar of his agenda since returning to office last year, reviving and expanding the use of the “public charge” provision of US immigration law to restrict entry by migrants deemed likely to rely on public benefits.
During his previous term as president, Trump imposed sweeping travel restrictions on several Muslim-majority countries, a policy widely referred to as a “Muslim ban,” which was challenged in US courts before a revised version was upheld by the Supreme Court. That policy was later rescinded under the President Joe Biden administration.
The latest visa freeze marks a renewed hardening of US immigration policy, raising uncertainty for migrants from affected countries as Washington reassesses its screening and vetting procedures.
The freeze on visas comes amid an intensifying crackdown on immigration enforcement by the Trump administration. In Minneapolis last week, a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Good, a US citizen, during a federal operation, an incident that has drawn nationwide protests and scrutiny of ICE tactics. Family members and local officials have challenged the federal account of the shooting, even as Department of Homeland Security officials defended the agent’s actions. The case has prompted resignations by federal prosecutors and heightened debate over the conduct of immigration enforcement under the current administration.
