ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s political leaders and foreign office on Friday condemned Israeli attacks on Al-Aqsa mosque and demanded immediate action by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Israeli security forces on Friday raided the Al-Aqsa mosque, when thousands of Palestinians were gathered for prayers during the holy month of Ramadan. Over 150 Palestinians were injured and more than 300 were arrested in clashes set off by the raid.
“Reports of Israeli forces’ raid on Al-Aqsa Mosque, today, indicate 152 injured and more than 300 Palestinians detained,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement.
“This highly condemnable assault on worshippers, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, is an egregious violation of all humanitarian norms and human rights laws.”
The clashes come at a particularly sensitive time, when Ramadan this year coincides with Passover, a major weeklong Jewish holiday beginning Friday at sundown, and Christian holy week, which culminates on Easter Sunday. The holidays are expected to bring tens of thousands of faithful into Jerusalem’s Old City, home to major sites sacred to all three religions.
In recent weeks, Israeli forces have killed dozens and injured countless Palestinians in the occupied East Jerusalem and other areas.
Pakistani political leaders condemned Israeli attacks on worshippers and demanded immediate action from the UNSC.
Noorul Haq Qadri, former religious affairs minister and a member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), termed Israeli attacks on innocent Palestinians an “absolutely shameful act.”
“The manner in which Al-Aqsa mosque has been desecrated and religious freedom of Palestinian Muslims has been taken away is very shameful and unprecedented in the whole world,” Qadri told Arab News.
He said the last ten days of brutalities by Israeli forces were “even bigger than Hitler’s and the Nazis’.”
“Until the people of Palestine and Kashmir are not given their right to self-determination, this will remain a challenge to world peace,” Qadri said.
“The Al-Aqsa mosque imam contacted me and I assured him Pakistan’s full support and to take his message to the Pakistani government. I will ask Pakistani government to firmly stand up with Palestinians.”
Raja Zafar ul Haq, a member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, condemned continued brutalities by Israeli forces on innocent worshippers.
“Israel is killing Palestinians with impunity and without any justification,” he told Arab News, regretting neither the UN nor International Criminal Court took notice of these human rights violations.
“We should collectively raise this issue at these forums.”
Senator Taj Haider from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) said the Palestinians became victims of extreme cruelty for merely praying at the mosque.
“Pakistan should protest this with full force,” he told Arab News. “The government should call a conference to gather and unite the Muslim world just like former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto did in 1974.”
Liaquat Baloch, a member of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, said the Israeli attacks were “a clear violation of the UN charter and an attempt to fuel hatred between different religions.” He said it had been going on for the past several years that Israel attacked worshippers in the holy month of Ramadan.
“The UN Security Council must take notice of this and also the countries with veto power must rethink of their support to Israel,” Baloch said.
Pakistani political leaders condemn Israeli raid on Al-Aqsa mosque, demand UN action
https://arab.news/52enq
Pakistani political leaders condemn Israeli raid on Al-Aqsa mosque, demand UN action
- The raid set off clashes that injured over 150 Palestinians, resulted in arrest of 300 others
- Islamabad calls the raid an ‘egregious violation’ of humanitarian norms and human rights laws
IMF warns against policy slippage amid weak recovery as it clears $1.2 billion for Pakistan
- Pakistan rebuilt reserves, cut its deficit and slowed inflation sharply over the past one year
- Fund says climate shocks, energy debt, stalled reforms threaten stability despite recent gains
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s economic recovery remains fragile despite a year of painful stabilization measures that helped pull the country back from the brink of default, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Thursday, after it approved a fresh $1.2 billion disbursement under its ongoing loan program.
The approval covers the second review of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first review of its climate-focused Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), bringing total disbursements since last year to about $3.3 billion.
Pakistan entered the IMF program in September 2024 after years of weak revenues, soaring fiscal deficits, import controls, currency depletion and repeated climate shocks left the economy close to external default. A smaller stopgap arrangement earlier that year helped avert immediate default, but the current 37-month program was designed to restore macroeconomic stability through strict monetary tightening, currency adjustments, subsidy rationalization and aggressive revenue measures.
The IMF’s new review shows that Pakistan has delivered significant gains since then. Growth recovered to 3 percent last year after shrinking the year before. Inflation fell from over 23 percent to low single digits before rising again after this year’s floods. The current account posted its first surplus in 14 years, helped by stronger remittances and a sharp reduction in imports. And the government delivered a primary budget surplus of 1.3 percent of GDP, a key program requirement. Foreign exchange reserves, which had dropped dangerously low in 2023, rose from US$9.4 billion to US$14.5 billion by June.
“Pakistan’s reform implementation under the EFF arrangement has helped preserve macroeconomic stability in the face of several recent shocks,” IMF Deputy Managing Director Nigel Clarke said in a statement after the Board meeting.
But he warned that Islamabad must “maintain prudent policies” and accelerate reforms needed for private-sector-led and sustainable growth.
The Fund noted that the 2025 monsoon floods, affecting nearly seven million people, damaging housing, livestock and key crops, and displacing more than four million, have set back the recovery. The IMF now expects GDP growth in FY26 to be slightly lower and forecasts inflation to rise to 8–10 percent in the coming months as food prices adjust.
The review warns Pakistan against relaxing monetary or fiscal discipline prematurely. It urges the State Bank to keep policy “appropriately tight,” allow exchange-rate flexibility and improve communication. Islamabad must also continue raising revenues, broadening the tax base and protecting social spending, the Fund said.
Despite the progress, Pakistan’s structural weaknesses remain severe.
Power-sector circular debt stands at about $5.7 billion, and gas-sector arrears have climbed to $11.3 billion despite tariff adjustments. Reform of state-owned enterprises has slowed, including delays in privatizing loss-making electricity distributors and Pakistan International Airlines. Key governance and anti-corruption reforms have also been pushed back.
The IMF welcomed Pakistan’s expansion of its flagship Benazir Income Support Program, which raises cash transfers for low-income families and expands coverage, saying social protection is essential as climate shocks intensify. But it warned that high public debt, about 72 percent of GDP, thin external buffers and climate exposure leave the country vulnerable if reform momentum weakens.
The Fund said Pakistan’s challenge now is to convert short-term stabilization into sustained recovery after years of economic volatility, with its ability to maintain discipline, rather than the size of external financing alone, determining the durability of its gains.
