GENEVA: Muslim countries are calling on the United Nations to investigate possible crimes committed during the 11-day conflict between Israel and the Palestinian military group Hamas and to establish responsibility.
The UN Human Rights Council will hold a special session on the latest conflict on Thursday, at the request of Pakistan, as coordinator of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the state of Palestine.
Those countries submitted a draft resolution late on Tuesday that would establish an independent international commission of inquiry to investigate all human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel, since April 13.
It would also examine all underlying root causes of tensions and instability, “including systematic discrimination and repression based on national, ethnic, racial or religious identity,” the draft said.
The independent team would collect and analyze evidence of crimes perpetrated, including forensic material, “in order to maximize the possibility of its admissibility in legal proceedings”.
Reporting back in June 2022, it would identify those responsible to try and end impunity and ensure legal accountability.
Meirav Eilon Shahar, Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, said in a tweet last week that convening the session “targeting Israel is testament to the clear anti-Israeli agenda of this body”. Its sponsors were “only rewarding the actions of Hamas, a terrorist organization”, she added, referring to the Islamist rulers of the coastal strip.
Since being set up in 2006, the UN rights council, a 47-member forum, has held eight previous special sessions that have condemned Israel and set up several probes into alleged war crimes.
The United States rejoined the forum under President Biden after the Trump administration quit accusing it of an anti-Israel bias. The US delegation currently has observer status but no vote.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the Middle East on Tuesday and pledged that Washington would provide new aid to help rebuild Gaza as part of efforts to bolster a cease-fire between its Hamas Islamist rulers and Israel.
On Pakistan’s request, UN rights council to hold special session on ‘possible crimes’ in Gaza
https://arab.news/gm2qg
On Pakistan’s request, UN rights council to hold special session on ‘possible crimes’ in Gaza
- Muslim countries call on United Nations to investigate crimes committed during latest violence between Israel and Palestinian and to establish responsibility
- Submit draft resolution late to establish independent inquiry commission to investigate rights violations in occupied Palestinian territory
Pakistani stocks breach 176,000 points barrier as investors expect further rate cuts
- Pakistani financial analyst attributes surge to falling inflation, investors expecting further policy rate cuts
- Pakistan’s finance ministry said Thursday that inflation had slowed to 5.6 percent year-on-year in December
KARACHI: Pakistani stocks continued their bullish run on Thursday, breaching the 176,000 points barrier for the first time after trading ended, with analysts attributing the surge to investors expecting further cuts in the policy rate.
The KSE-100 benchmark gained 2,301.17 points at close of business on Thursday, marking an increase of 1.32 percent to settle at 176,355.49 points.
Pakistan’s central bank cut its key policy rate by 50 basis points to 10.5 percent last month, breaking a four-meeting hold in a move that surprised markets. Pakistan’s consumer price inflation slowed to 5.6 percent year-on-year in December, while prices fell on a monthly basis as per data from the finance ministry.
“Upbeat data for consumer price index (CPI) inflation at 5.6pc in December 2025 [with] investors expecting a further State Bank of Pakistan rate cuts on falling inflation data,” Ahsan Mehanti, CEO of Arif Habib Commodities Ltd., told Arab News.
The stock market witnessed a trading volume of 1,402.650 million shares, with a traded value of Rs48.424 billion ($173 million), compared with 957.239 million shares valued at Rs44.231 billion ($158 million) during the previous session.
Topline Securities, a leading brokerage firm in Pakistan, credited the surge to strong buying at the first session.
“This positivity can be accredited to buying by local institutions on the start of the new calendar year,” it said.
Pakistan’s Finance Adviser Khurram Schehzad highlighted that the bullish trend at the stock market reflected “strong investor confidence.”
“With lower inflation, affordable fuel, stronger reserves, rising digitization and a buoyant capital market, Pakistan’s economic outlook is clearly improving--supporting greater confidence, better investment sentiment and more positive momentum for 2026,” he said on social media platform X.
