ISLAMABAD: Pakistan urges the world to halt Israeli strikes on Gaza for the success of a conference in June on the two-state solution to the Palestine issue, Pakistan’s permanent mission to the United Nations (UN) said on Saturday.
The statement came days after French President Emmanuel Macron said he spoke with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the two leaders condemned the resumption of Israeli strikes on Gaza. Macron said they will co-chair a conference on a two-state solution, aimed at “helping revive a political perspective for both Israelis and Palestinians.”
The Israeli military on Wednesday resumed ground operations in central and southern Gaza, as a second day of airstrikes killed at least 48 Palestinians, according to health authorities. The renewed ground operations came a day after more than 400 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes in one of the deadliest episodes since the beginning of the conflict in October 2023, shattering a ceasefire that has largely held since January.
“If we can halt Israel’s military campaign, sustain a ceasefire and end the humanitarian crisis, it would create conditions conducive to the success of the endeavor for a two-State solution at the Conference, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France, next June,” the Pakistani mission quoted the country’s permanent representative, Munir Akram, as saying at the UN.
“This is an outcome that should be desired by the world and should enjoy consensus within the Security Council.”
Palestinian territory – encompassing the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem – has been occupied by Israel since 1967. Pakistan does not recognize Israel and has consistently called for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and pre-1967 borders.
“The Security Council, and the world community, cannot sit back and watch this on-going ethnic cleansing,” Akram was quoted as saying. “A failure to halt this brutal war will unleash the worst instinct of powerful and predatory states, shred the principles of the UN Charter, designed to prevent aggression and the scourge of war.”
Israel’s war on Gaza, which began after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and displaced almost all of Gaza’s 2 million population by laying waste to swathes of neighborhoods, schools and hospitals.
Pakistan urges halt in Israeli strikes on Gaza for success of Saudi-backed conference on two-state solution
https://arab.news/9jfxm
Pakistan urges halt in Israeli strikes on Gaza for success of Saudi-backed conference on two-state solution
- Development comes after French President Emmanuel Macron said he spoke with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and they will co-chair a conference on the two-state solution
- Pakistan does not recognize Israel and has consistently called for an independent Palestinian state based on ‘internationally agreed parameters’ and pre-1967 borders
Daesh media chief for ISKP in Pakistan’s custody — state media
- Sultan Aziz Azzam, a senior member of ISKP, used to head its Al Azzam media outlet, says state media
- Azzam was arrested in May while attempting to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan, says state media
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have taken into custody Sultan Aziz Azzam, the head of Daesh regional affiliate ISKP’s media outlet, state media reported on Thursday citing intelligence sources.
The state-run Pakistan TV Digital reported that Azzam was a senior member of ISKP and hailed from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. As per the state media report, he is also a graduate of the University of Nangarhar where he studied Islamic jurisprudence.
Pakistan TV Digital reported Azzam joined ISKP in 2016 and later became a prominent member of its leadership council.
“He was arrested in May 2025 while attempting to cross from Afghanistan into Pakistan,” Pakistan TV Digital reported, citing intelligence sources.
“He is believed to have overseen media operations and headed ISKP’s Al Azzam media outlet.”
In November 2021, Washington listed Azzam as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” (SDGT). The move bars American citizens from engaging in transactions with persons designated as SDGTs.
According to a report on the UN Security Council’s website, Azzam has played an “instrumental role” in spreading Daesh’s violent ideology, glorifying and justifying “terrorist acts.”
“Building on his former experience as an Afghan journalist, his activity as ISIL-K’s spokesperson has increased ISIL-K’s visibility and influence among its followers,” the report states.
The report further states Azzam claimed responsibility on behalf of Daesh for the suicide attack near Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 26, 2021, which killed at least 170 Afghans and 13 US service members and injured 150 more.
The development takes place amid tense relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with Islamabad alleging militants use Afghan soil to carry out attacks against Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegations.
Tensions surged in October when Pakistan and Afghanistan engaged in fierce border clashes, claiming to have killed dozens of soldiers of the other side.
Pakistan has urged the Afghan Taliban-led government to take “decisive action” against militants it says operate from its soil. Afghanistan says it cannot be held responsible for Pakistan’s security challenges.
