ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday it supported an “inclusive political process” in Syria after the fall of President Bashar Assad’s regime and believed that the Middle Eastern nation’s future should be determined by its people without “foreign interference.”
Following the overthrow of the Assad family after over five decades in power, opposition forces’ leader Ahmad Al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) group is stamping its authority on the Syrian state with the same lightning speed that it seized the country, deploying police, installing an interim government and meeting foreign envoys, raising concerns over how inclusive Damascus’ new rulers intend to be. HTS bureaucrats — who until last week were running an administration in a remote corner of Syria’s northwest — have moved into government headquarters in Damascus.
The appointment of Mohammed Al-Bashir, the head of the regional government in HTS’ enclave of Idlib, as Syria’s new interim prime minister on Monday underlined the group’s status as the most powerful of the armed groups that battled for more than 13 years to end Assad’s iron-fisted rule.
“We believe that any solution to the situation in Syria should correspond to the aspirations of the Syrian people for their security, stability and development, Pakistan believes that it is the right of the people of Syria to determine their own future and make decisions about their destiny,” foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told reporters on Thursday.
“We also support efforts to establish an inclusive political process. We also believe that no foreign interference or external imposition should determine Syria’s future.”
Although it was part of Al-Qaeda before breaking ties in 2016, HTS had reassured tribal leaders, local officials, and ordinary Syrians during its march to Damascus that it would protect minority faiths, winning broad approval. The message helped smooth the advance by the opposition forces and Sharaa — better known as Abu Mohammed Al-Golani — has repeated it since Assad’s ouster.
Bashir has said he will only remain in power until March. But HTS — which remains classified as a terrorist group by the United States, regional powerbroker Turkiye and other governments — has yet to spell out key details of the transition process, including its thinking on a new constitution.
Foreign Office spokesperson also said Pakistan was “deeply concerned” over Israeli aggression against Syria, its “illegal seizure” of Syrian territory and widespread destruction of infrastructure and civilian and military installations.
After the overthrow of Assad on Sunday, Israeli troops moved into the demilitarized zone set up after the 1973 Middle East war, saying the incursion was a temporary measure to ensure border security. Israel aims to impose a “sterile defense zone” in southern Syria that would be enforced without a permanent troop presence, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday, as the military said a wave of air strikes had destroyed the bulk of Syria’s strategic weapons stockpiles.
“This assault on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria is a grave breach of international law. We express support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and reject Israeli acquisition of territory by force,” Baloch said.
“We reaffirm our support for the UN Security Council Resolution 497, which declares Israeli annexation of the Golan Heights null and void and without international legal effect.”
She also said the ministry of foreign affairs and Pakistan’s missions in Syria and Lebanon were “actively” working to repatriate Pakistanis in Syria.
More than 1,300 Pakistanis have been stranded in Syria since Sunday. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged Lebanese PM Najib Mikati to “personally” assist in getting Pakistanis, including pilgrims, out of Syria by land routes through the border with Lebanon.
“Around 475 Pakistanis, including around 250 pilgrims, have crossed the Syrian border into Lebanon,” Baloch said.
“They will be transferred from Beirut to Islamabad. We appreciate the support extended by the government of Lebanon in facilitating the safe return of the stranded Pakistani nationals from Syria.”
– With inputs from Reuters
