Pakistan reaffirms ‘unwavering support’ for Palestinian right to self-determination

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday met outgoing Ambassador of Palestine, Ahmed Jawad A.A. Rabei, and reaffirmed the South Asian nation’s “unwavering support” for the people of Palestine and their right to self-determination as war rages in Gaza. 
The current war in the Palestinian enclave began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas gunmen stormed into Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s military has since levelled swathes of the Gaza strip, driving nearly all of its 2.3 million people from their homes, giving rise to deadly hunger and disease and killing at least 40,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.
“The Prime Minister reiterated Pakistan’s unwavering support for the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination,” Sharif’s office said in a statement. “He strongly condemned Israel’s barbaric actions against innocent Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, 2023 that had led to the heart wrenching killing of over 40000 innocent Palestinians, including women and children, and more than 90000 injured.”

Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s “strong commitment and support” for efforts to find a “just and lasting resolution” of the Palestine issue through a two-state solution with the creation of an independent state of Palestine.
Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issue at the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other multilateral platforms and demanded international powers and bodies stop Israeli military actions in Gaza. 
The South Asian country has also dispatched several humanitarian aid consignments for Palestinians.