Pakistan condemns Israel’s West Bank expansion measures at UN Security Council

Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohammad Ishaq Dar addresses the Security Council during the meeting on the situation in the Middle East, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, on February 18, 2026. (REUTERS)
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Updated 19 February 2026
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Pakistan condemns Israel’s West Bank expansion measures at UN Security Council

  • Islamabad calls for immediate halt to Israeli steps designating occupied land as “state land”
  • Pakistan backs Gaza ceasefire, reconstruction under UN-endorsed diplomatic framework

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has condemned Israel’s recent decisions to expand control over the occupied West Bank while addressing a high-level United Nations Security Council briefing on Palestine in New York, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.

Israel’s cabinet approved new measures this month tightening administrative and legal control over parts of the West Bank, including easing land purchases by settlers and reclassifying land as “state land,” a move Palestinians and many international observers say deepens settlement expansion and undermines prospects for a two-state solution.

Pakistan, which does not recognize Israel and has consistently supported Palestinian statehood, has also recently joined a multilateral diplomatic framework aimed at stabilizing Gaza following the latest war and ceasefire efforts.

In a statement, the foreign ministry said Dar “strongly condemned Israel’s continued ceasefire violations, illegal settlement activities, and attempts to alter the status of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly its recent illegal decisions and measures to expand control over the Occupied West Bank, including designating of its land as ‘state land’.”

He called for the “immediate halt and reversal” of those actions, according to the statement.

Dar also urged a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2803, which underpins international efforts toward reconstruction and political settlement after months of conflict in the enclave.

The minister said Pakistan joined the Board of Peace — a diplomatic initiative supported by a group of Arab and Islamic countries — to support humanitarian relief and long-term political resolution.

He expressed hope the initiative would lead to “concrete steps” toward a ceasefire, expanded humanitarian aid and eventual realization of Palestinian self-determination through a political process based on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Dar reaffirmed Pakistan’s willingness to support diplomatic initiatives including the Board of Peace, a proposed international peace conference and other multilateral efforts aimed at a “just, lasting and comprehensive peace” in the Middle East.


Pakistan army hits Afghan Taliban drone storage facility, ammunition depot in Jalalabad

Updated 02 March 2026
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Pakistan army hits Afghan Taliban drone storage facility, ammunition depot in Jalalabad

  • Around 435 Afghan Taliban fighters killed, over 630 injured in Pakistani military offensive, minister says
  • Several countries, global bodies have urged both sides to exercise restraint since the conflict began last week

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s army struck a drone storage facility and ammunition depot of Afghan Taliban in Jalalabad, a Pakistani security official said on Monday, following Pakistani strikes on more than 50 locations in Afghanistan amid ongoing hostilities between the neighbors.

Pakistan launched Operation ‘Ghazb lil Haq’ against Afghanistan on the night of Feb. 26 following an attack by Afghanistan on Pakistani military installations along their shared border.

The worst fighting between the two neighbors in years erupted after Pakistani airstrikes targeted what Islamabad called militant hideouts inside Afghanistan on Feb. 21-22, accusing Kabul of harboring Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants behind the attacks on its soil. Afghanistan denies the charge.

A Pakistani security official, who requested anonymity, said the army was continuing “strong retaliatory action” against the Afghan Taliban and blew up multiple border posts, forcing them to abandon their positions.

“Pakistan forces are effectively targeting the bases and military installations of the Fitna Al-Khawarij and the Afghan Taliban,” he said.

“During the effective counter-operation of the Pakistani forces, the ammunition depot and drone storage site of Fitna Al-Khawarij (TTP) and the Afghan Taliban in Jalalabad was destroyed.”

Separately, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said more than 400 Afghan Taliban fighters had been killed and over 630 wounded in the Pakistani military offensive so far.

Pakistan destroyed around 188 check posts and captured 31, according to a post on X by Tarar. Over 180 tanks, armored vehicles and artillery guns were also destroyed in Pakistani air raids at 51 locations across Afghanistan.

On Sunday, Pakistani state media shared a video of what it said were Pakistani soldiers crossing into Afghanistan in the northwest to capture an Afghan post. Pakistan has seized a 32-square-kilometer area of Afghanistan, another Pakistani security official said.

Afghan officials earlier said that dozens of Pakistani soldiers had been killed and several Pakistan posts had been captured by their forces. None of the casualty figures or battlefield claims from either side could be independently verified.

Since the conflict began last week, diplomatic efforts have intensified, with several countries and international bodies calling on both sides to exercise restraint.

The United Nations, along with China and Russia, has called for calm, while US President Donald Trump said Pakistan has the right to defend itself against cross-border militancy.