ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top diplomat at the United Nations on Tuesday criticized Israel’s “extremist leaders” for continuing the war in Gaza for their own political survival, as fresh Israeli airstrikes killed about 400 people, threatening to unravel a fragile ceasefire.
Addressing a UN Security Council briefing on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Ambassador Munir Akram accused Israel of systematically eroding the ceasefire agreement reached in January and called for an end to its “slaughter” of the Palestinian people.
The ceasefire agreement was reached on January 15 following more than a year of Israeli airstrikes that flattened much of Gaza’s infrastructure, including schools, hospitals and residential neighborhoods.
In the weeks that followed, Hamas, which governs the enclave, returned several batches of Israeli hostages taken at the start of the war, and the international community began to discuss reconstruction plans for the war-ravaged territory.
“The agreement of 15th January for a ceasefire, for a three-phase ceasefire, offered a sliver of hope for the Palestinian people, for the Israeli people, and for the world community,” Akram said. “The Arab and OIC [Organization of Islamic Cooperation] reconstruction and peace plan was under consideration in capitals. It offered a road to peace.”
“But obviously, this glimmer of hope and hope for peace was not to the liking of the extremist leaders who rule Israel today,” he continued. “They see their survival in the continuation of the war.”
Akram said Israeli was guilty of violating every article of international law, urging the world community to respond with justice or risk the world order’s regression “into the barbarism from which the Charter of the United Nations was supposed to rescue us.”
Akram highlighted Israel’s deliberate efforts to dismantle the ceasefire agreement, starting with the imposition of a humanitarian blockade of Gaza. This, he said, was followed by restrictions on Palestinian Muslims from accessing Al-Aqsa Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan.
“These are all tactics of the oppressor,” he maintained. “And now, they have escalated to blatantly violate the ceasefire and resume attacks against the helpless Palestinians in Gaza who were just returning to rebuild their homes.”
The Pakistani envoy called for the resumption of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave and the need for a revival of negotiations leading to a two-state solution, with an independent Palestinian state along pre-1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital.
“The upcoming June conference, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, is an important opportunity for the peaceful resolution of the Palestinian question and the implementation of the two-state solution,” he said, adding that “to realize the possibility of peace, Israel’s aggression, its attacks and its slaughter of the Palestinians must stop.”
Pakistani diplomat at UN slams Israel’s ‘extremist leaders’ for continuing Gaza war for political survival
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Pakistani diplomat at UN slams Israel’s ‘extremist leaders’ for continuing Gaza war for political survival
- Ambassador Munir Akram says Israel undermined Gaza ceasefire through humanitarian blockade, restricting Al Aqsa access
- He tells the world body the only way to peace is to end Israel’s ‘slaughter’ of innocent Palestinians in the war-torn region
Pakistan urges developed nations, global institutions to expand role in climate financing
- Pakistan is recognized among countries worldwide most affected by climate-induced disasters
- Planning minister stresses redesigning global financial system on principles of responsibility, equity
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal this week called on developed nations and international financial institutions to play a greater role in helping developing countries adopt green technologies at lower costs, state-run media reported.
Pakistan has suffered frequent climate change-induced disasters over the past couple of years, ranging from floods, droughts, heatwaves, cyclones and other irregular weather patterns.
This year the South Asian country reported over 1,000 deaths from floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains and the melting of glaciers.
“He [Iqbal] said Pakistan has urged developed countries and international financial institutions to expand their role in climate financing to enable developing nations to adopt green technologies at lower costs,” state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Saturday.
The minister was speaking at the Second Asia Energy Transition Summit held at Pakistani university LUMS on Saturday.
Iqbal warned that climate change is intensifying emergencies and increasing economic burdens on vulnerable countries, adding that financial incentives and concessional financing have become indispensable for sustainable climate action.
“He further emphasized the need to redesign the global financial system based on the principles of collective responsibility and equity,” APP said.
The minister noted that Pakistan has been introducing comprehensive reforms in its development agenda to promote renewable energy, solar power and green technological solutions.
The country, he said, possesses “strong solar potential,” a robust renewable energy market, a wide talent pool in engineering and science and an enabling environment for green innovation.
Pakistan has regularly urged developed countries to fulfill past pledges and provide easy access to climate funding without attaching conditions, especially at Conference of Parties (COP30) climate summits.
Islamabad was instrumental in getting the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) established at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt in 2022. The Loss and Damage Fund aims to help developing and least developed countries cope with both economic and non-economic impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather events and slow-onset crises like sea-level rise and droughts.
