ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), Ambassador Munir Akram, asked Israel to stop its ongoing “genocide” of Palestinian people and stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Pakistani state media reported on Saturday.
Akram’s comments came at a UN meeting, wherein UN Humanitarian Coordinator Martin Griffiths, fresh from the war-torn region, and Lynn Hastings, deputy special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, were among those who briefed member states about latest developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Both UN officials called for humanitarian cease-fires to ensure a safe delivery of food, fuel and other essential items to the people in Gaza.
In his remarks, the Pakistani envoy said the Israelis were committing the “modern genocide” against the Palestinians and “we must call it for what it is.”
“We cannot mince our words,” Ambassador Akram said during the briefing, titled ‘Humanitarian Situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.’
“We have to tell the Israelis: stop the genocide,” he was quoted as saying by the state-run APP news agency.
Since a shock Hamas attack on October 7, which Israeli officials say has killed 1,400 people, Israel has bombarded the besieged Gaza Strip. The health ministry in Gaza says more than 9,480 Gazans, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israeli strikes and the intensifying ground campaign.
In this regard, Akram called for respecting and adhering to the international humanitarian law that forbade attacks on civilians and civilian objects.
“Let us, as the international community, adhere to what the General Assembly has said. Let us adhere to what the international humanitarian law says,” the Pakistani envoy said.
“This is what we expect from all those who are leading the United Nations, all those who are speaking for the conscience of the international community.”
He said the deadly Israeli strikes against schools, hospitals and civilian sites in Gaza on the pretext that there were “military targets” in those facilities were a gross violation of international law and norms as well as a “collective punishment” of a helpless people.
At UN, Pakistan asks Israel to stop ‘genocide’ of Palestinians in Gaza
https://arab.news/r3cub
At UN, Pakistan asks Israel to stop ‘genocide’ of Palestinians in Gaza
- The statement came at a UN briefing on humanitarian situation in Palestinian Territories
- Ambassador Munir Akram calls Israeli strikes a gross violation of international law, norms
Sharif departs for Austria on first official visit by Pakistani PM in over 30 years
- Shehbaz Sharif leads high-level delegation to Austria on two-day visit, says Pakistan’s foreign office
- Sharif to meet Austrian counterpart, chair Pakistan–Austria Business Forum meeting during visit
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif departed for Vienna on Sunday for a two-day visit to review bilateral ties, his office said in a statement, marking the first official visit by a Pakistani premier to the country in over three decades.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson said that Sharif is undertaking the visit at Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker’s invitation. Sharif will lead a high-level delegation comprising the deputy premier and information minister from the Feb. 15-16 visit.
The foreign office said Sharif’s visit marks 70 years since diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Austria were established.
“This visit by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to Vienna marks the first visit by a Pakistani Prime Minister to Austria in over three decades, the last having been undertaken by the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1992,” the statement said.
Sharif will hold bilateral talks with his Austrian counterpart, during which the two leaders will take stock of the entire gamut of bilateral relations.
“The prime minister will also chair a meeting of the Pakistan–Austria Business Forum, which is being organized by the Austrian Economic Chamber (WKO),” the foreign office said. “He will also visit multilateral organizations.”
According to Pakistan’s foreign ministry, Islamabad and Vienna enjoy cooperation in the domains of trade, economy, culture and education.
It said Sharif’s visit to Vienna will establish new dimensions to the Pakistan-Austria relations.
