ISLAMABAD: Pakistan military spokesperson Major General Babar Iftikhar has said the army “fully supported” the government’s position on Israel, a local daily reported on Sunday.
Pakistan has been a staunch supporter of demands for a Palestinian state and does not recognize Israel, though officials have maintained covert contacts for decades.
“The stated position of the government of Pakistan on Israel and Palestine is fully supported by the armed forces,” the army’s spokesperson was quoted by The News as saying. He added that unnecessary and unsubstantiated speculation on the subject must be discouraged.
In recent weeks, there has been speculation about foreign pressure on Pakistan to recognize Israel, though the Pakistani prime minister and foreign office have categorically rejected the reports.
Earlier this week, on Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan said his administration would not recognize Israel until there was a just settlement of the Palestinian issue.
In a local media interview this month, PM Khan said Israel’s “deep influence” in the United States was behind pressure on Pakistan to recognize Israel — pressure that had become “extraordinary” during President Donald Trump’s tenure.
However, Khan had added: “I have no second thought about recognizing Israel unless there is a just settlement, which satisfies Palestine.”
On November 24, the foreign office said: “Pakistan steadfastly supports the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination. For just and lasting peace, it is imperative to have a two-state solution in accordance with the relevant United Nations and OIC resolutions, with the pre-1967 borders, and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as the capital of a viable, independent and contiguous Palestinian State.”
Pakistan army says ‘fully’ supports government’s position on not recognizing Israel
https://arab.news/y4e97
Pakistan army says ‘fully’ supports government’s position on not recognizing Israel
- In recent weeks, there has been speculation about foreign pressure on Pakistan to recognize Israel
- PM and foreign office have rejected the reports, saying Pakistan would not acknowledge the Jewish state without a just settlement in Palestine
Pakistan expresses solidarity with Canada as school shooting claims 9 lives
- At least 9 dead, 27 wounded in shooting incident at secondary school, residence in British Columbia on Tuesday
- Officials say the shooter was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after the incident
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday expressed solidarity with Canada as a high school shooting incident in a British Columbia town left at least nine dead, more than 20 others injured.
Six people were found at the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School while a seventh died on the way to the hospital, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement on Tuesday. Two other people were found dead at a home that police believe is connected to the shooting at the school. A total of 27 people were wounded in the attack.
In an initial emergency alert, police described the suspect as a “female in a dress with brown hair,” with officials saying she was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“Saddened by the tragic shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X.
He conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims, wishing a swift recovery to those injured in the attack.
“Pakistan stands in solidarity with the people and Government of Canada in this difficult time,” he added.
Canadian police have not yet released any information about the age of the shooter or the victims.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “devastated” by the violence, announcing he had suspended plans to travel to the Munich Security Conference on Wednesday.
While mass shootings are rare in Canada, last April, a vehicle attack that targeted a Filipino cultural festival in Vancouver killed 11 people.
British Columbia Premier David Eby called the latest violence “unimaginable.”
Nina Krieger, British Columbia’s minister of public safety, described it as one of the “worst mass shootings” in Canada’s history.
