Pakistan says Syria needs ‘credible political transition,' condemns Israeli incursions and airstrikes
Israel capitalized last December on the fall of the long regime of Bashar Assad to bolster its military foothold in Syria. It now controls a 400-square-km demilitarized buffer zone, supports the Druze minority and is opposed to the Syrian leadership.
Syria's foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned Israeli strikes on the southwestern city of Daraa, which it said had killed and injured civilians. The strikes a day earlier killed at least three people and injured 19 others, the Syrian civil defense group, known as the White Helmets, said.
The Israeli army confirmed the strikes, the latest in a string of attacks targeting Syria's military infrastructure since rebels toppled Assad. Israel said it targeted military headquarters and sites containing weapons and equipment.
'Israel's continued and repeated incursions and airstrikes into the Syrian territory, continued violation of 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement and its declared intent for an indefinite presence and full demilitarization of Syria are unacceptable, constitute latent violation of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity and undermine international law and regional stability,' the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement.
'A durable peace in Syria hinges on a credible political transition, national unity and reconciliation and inclusive governance.'
The Agreement on Disengagement between Israel and Syria, which was signed on May 31, 1974, provided for the continuation of the ceasefire already in effect and for the separation of opposing parties by a UN Peacekeeping Force.
After the fall of Assad, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, who led anti-regime forces to oust Assad, was declared president for a transitional period in late January. Israel says it will not tolerate what it describes as an Islamist militant presence in southern Syria and has sent its troops into Syria's border zone.
Syria's leadership has said it does not intend to open a front against Israel.
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