ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed authorities to send two planeloads of relief items for people in Lebanon and Gaza suffering from Israeli aggression, his office said in a statement, calling on masses to donate to his official Gaza relief fund.
Pakistan’s federal cabinet this month established a special fund for Palestine and Lebanon following an all-parties conference that discussed Israel’s war on Gaza. Islamabad has so far dispatched 12 aid shipments to Palestine and Lebanon since October 2023, which include ready-to-eat meat, tents, tarpaulins, warm bedding, winter clothing and powdered milk.
Israel has killed over 42,000 people in Gaza after a surprise attack by Hamas in October 2023, which the Palestinian group claimed was in response to the worsening conditions of Palestinians under Israeli occupation. More recently, it opened another front in Lebanon with the stated goal of destroying Hezbollah, which attempted to provide military assistance to the Palestinians. Israel’s military actions in Lebanon have raised fears of a broader regional conflict, potentially involving Iran.
“The prime minister immediately directed two planes of aid for Lebanon and Gaza,” the PM Office said on Tuesday after Sharif held a meeting to review relief activities for Palestine and Lebanon. “In addition to air, relief goods should be dispatched by trucks.”
Sharif directed Pakistan’s ambassadors in Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt to improve relations with their host countries so that Islamabad could dispatch relief items there easily.
He urged authorities to ensure the aid reached deserving people in both countries, calling on Pakistani masses to donate to the PM’s Relief Fund for Gaza and Lebanon.
“Support the government in helping our Palestinian and Lebanese brothers and sisters by collecting donations,” Sharif was quoted as saying by his office.
The PMO said that Pakistanis in the country and abroad can donate to this account: IBAN PK11SBPD000000111111429.
The Pakistani premier was briefed regarding the ongoing relief operations in Gaza through which tents, clothes, blankets, medicine, food and drink were being dispatched abroad. PM Sharif was told about the difficulties being encountered in the transportation of relief goods.
“NGOs who want to send relief goods for the victims of Gaza and Lebanon will be provided facilities by the Government of Pakistan regarding the delivery of relief goods,” the PMO 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.
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issue at the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and other multilateral platforms and demanded international powers and bodies stop Israeli military actions in Gaza. The South Asian country has also dispatched several aid consignments for the Palestinians.
