ISLAMABAD: Calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “purveyor of genocide,” Pakistan on Friday warned that any aggression against its sovereignty would be met with full force, hours after the two countries clashed at the United Nations Security Council over Israel’s strike on Qatar earlier this week.
Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan was responding to journalists’ questions at the weekly press briefing about a recent Israeli airstrike on a residential neighborhood in Doha that killed six people and Netanyahu equating it with the US May 2011 operation in Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden.
In a video message to mark the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on Thursday, the Israeli prime minister specifically named Pakistan, saying his country did exactly what America did when it “went after Al Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan, and when they killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.”
Khan reiterated Pakistan’s condemnation of Israel’s Doha attack, pointing out that the “reckless action” was yet another manifestation of Israel’s disregard for international peace and its policy of destabilizing the Middle East.
“We do not respond to statements by the purveyors of genocide,” the foreign office spokesperson said in response to a query on Netanyahu’s comment. “What is happening right now in the Middle East, which is our immediate neighborhood, we follow it very closely.”
“But let me be absolutely clear: Pakistan is fully capable of defending itself against any external threat,” he added. “Pakistan remains a responsible nuclear state and a proponent of regional peace and stability. However, any misadventure or threat to Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity will be met with a resolute response.”
Khan said Israel’s attack was a blatant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty as well as the United Nations Charter and the established norms governing interstate relations.
The strike was launched to kill a group of Hamas leaders discussing a Gaza ceasefire proposal floated by the American administration. Qatar has been a key mediator in ceasefire and hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas, hosting the group’s political bureau as part of the process.
Pakistan and Israel also engaged in a spat at the UN Security Council when Pakistan’s Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad called out Israel for its “brazen and illegal assault” that violated Qatar’s sovereignty.
When the Israeli representative at the UN invoked the US raid that killed bin Laden, Ahmad rejected the analogy as “ludicrous,” accusing Israel of attempting to deflect attention from its occupation of Palestine.
The Pakistani envoy also urged the Council to hold Israel accountable for its aggression against Qatar.
In his weekly media briefing, the foreign office spokesperson said Pakistan would continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people and leadership of Qatar in defense of their security and sovereignty.
He referred to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Doha a day earlier, saying Sharif conveyed that his country was deeply disturbed by the attack, which was a serious breach of international law.
Khan said Pakistan had called for an emergency Security Council session at Qatar’s request to discuss the recent developments in the Middle East.
He also welcomed Qatar’s decision to host an Extraordinary Arab-Islamic Summit on September 15 and said Islamabad had indicated its willingness to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to co-sponsor and co-convene the summit.
Khan added that Pakistan is working on the composition of a delegation to attend the summit.
