ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday condemned Israel’s bombing of the historic Grand Mosque in Gaza’s Khan Younis and urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to protect the Palestinians by putting an end to Israeli violations of the international law, the Pakistani foreign office said.
Israel has carried out near-daily raids across Gaza and the West Bank since the October 7 attacks by Hamas, according to the Palestinian authorities. The Israeli military campaign has destroyed 610 mosques and three churches over the past 10 months in Gaza.
Speaking at a weekly press briefing, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, a spokesperson for the Pakistani foreign office, expressed grave concerns and unequivocal condemnation of the recent large-scale military operations by Israeli forces in Gaza and the West Bank.
“Pakistan strongly condemns the bombing of the historic Grand Mosque in Khan Younis, Gaza by the Israeli occupation forces,” she said. “This attack is a grievous assault on a place of deep cultural and religious significance. It also constitutes a clear violation of international law.”
Baloch urged the UNSC to hold Israel accountable for “egregious violations” of international humanitarian law and “war crimes” in Gaza.
“We call on the UN Security Council to take urgent and concrete measures to end these blatant violations of international law and the UN charter, protect the Palestinian people and hold Israel accountable for its egregious violations of international humanitarian law and the genocide and war crimes in Gaza,” she said.
Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Speaking about the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Cameroon today, Baloch said Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi will present the South Asian nation’s perspective on Gaza and Kashmir along with other global issues.
The two-day event will be held in Cameroon’s capital city of Yaoundé. Pakistan actively participates in CFM meetings to address issues affecting the Muslim world, including Palestine, Kashmir and counterterrorism, while promoting regional cooperation, economic development and Islamic solidarity apart from fostering collaboration with other member states to tackle common challenges and opportunities.
Pakistan condemns bombing of Grand Mosque in Khan Younis, calls on UN to protect Palestinians
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Pakistan condemns bombing of Grand Mosque in Khan Younis, calls on UN to protect Palestinians
- Pakistan foreign office terms Israeli attack a ‘grievous assault’ on a religious place
- Over 40,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation forces since war began last year
Saudi charity KSrelief distributes 4,000 winter kits in northwest Pakistan
- The charity will distribute around 800 kits each in five districts, containing two quilts and winter clothing
- The program is part of a broader winterization initiative to help communities affected by harsh weather
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) on Friday said it had started distributing 4,000 winter kits in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to help communities affected by harsh weather.
The program is part of KSrelief’s larger winterization initiative that was launched at the Saudi embassy in Islamabad earlier in January. Under the broader initiative, 22,000 winter kits will be distributed among more than 154,000 Pakistanis across the country.
Each winter kit includes two polyester quilts, warm shawls and winter clothing. Around 800 kits will be distributed in each of the Chitral, Upper Dir, Upper Kohistan, Mansehra and Kurram districts.
"The initiative targets communities severely impacted by harsh winter conditions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, as well as selected areas of Punjab and Sindh experiencing extremely low temperatures," KSrelief said in a statement.
The project is being carried out in close collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority, provincial disaster management authorities, the Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Hayat Foundation.
The statement said the initiative reaffirms KSrelief's continued commitment to alleviating winter-related hardships and improving the living conditions of vulnerable populations across Pakistan.
The Saudi charity has launched numerous projects across Pakistan in food security, health, education and disaster response in recent years, deepening the bonds of friendship and brotherhood between the two countries.
