ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top diplomat at the United Nations on Tuesday called for an International Peace Conference on Palestine to halt Israeli aggression in Gaza, saying that the conference’s aim should be to demand implementation on the UN’s resolutions that seek a two-state solution in the Middle East.
The development takes place amid the latest push for peace in Gaza, as envoys from Qatar, Egypt, and the United States hold talks with Hamas to end hostilities in the Middle East. Israel has so far not taken part in the discussions.
Israel’s war in Gaza since October last year has killed over 30,000 Palestinians, which includes women, children and the elderly. The Jewish state has ignored angry calls from Muslim countries around the world, the UN and peace activists, to halt military offensives in Palestine.
Ambassador Munir Akram, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, urged the international community to uphold its responsibility in ending Israeli aggression “immediately.” Akram was addressing the 193-member UN General Assembly as the acting chair of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the UN.
“Pakistan, speaking on behalf of the Islamic countries, has called for convening an International Peace Conference on Palestine, aimed at implementing UN resolutions on the restoration of Palestinians’ inalienable rights to self-determination within a two-state solution,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said in a report.
Akram deeply regretted the US decision to veto a UN Security Council resolution last month that demanded a ceasefire in the Middle East, saying that the world has followed the “monumental and unending” sufferings of the people of Palestine since last year.
“This situation has resulted in the colossal loss of lives and wanton destruction of homes, schools, hospitals and religious sites in Gaza, due to the incessant attacks by the Israeli occupying power on the territory,” he said.
The Pakistani ambassador said there was an imminent threat of mass starvation in Gaza, which he said was caused by inadequate food supplies and essential services for Palestinians living in the densely populated territory.
“Notwithstanding the foregoing efforts by the various actors within the United Nations as well as members of the international community, there are ominous signs of even greater dangers ahead,” he noted.
Pakistan does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. The South Asian country has consistently accused Israel of genocide and called for an independent Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital.
