Pakistanis rally to demand Muslim solidarity with Iran as conflict with Israel deepens
LAHORE: Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the Pakistani city of Lahore on Sunday to protest Israel's military strikes on Iran, calling for unity among Muslim nations and stronger action against what they described as Israeli aggression.
Israel's surprise attack on targets across Iran on Friday has been followed by four days of escalating strikes, as both sides have threatened more devastation in the biggest ever confrontation between the longstanding enemies.
Clutching banners and chanting slogans, protesters in Lahore urged Muslim countries to stand with Iran and resist Israel's actions.
'The only solution to this is that the atrocity and barbarism that Israel started is put to an end by getting together with Iran,' said Nida Fatima, a student who joined the rally. 'For every Muslim, every proud Muslim, every proud individual in any Muslim nation, it is their duty to stand up for Palestine with Iran.'
Hussnain Zaidi, a local marketing manager in his 50s, demanded immediate international pressure on Israel.
'The oppression and brutality that Israel has committed against Iran must end, and the international community must propose a punishment for it so that it does not attempt to destroy any country in the future like Israel did with Gaza,' he told AFP.
The death toll in Iran since Friday has reached at least 224, with 90 percent of the casualties reported to be civilians, an Iranian health ministry spokesperson said. At least 23 fatalities have been reported in Israel, including in Tel Aviv and Haifa, as per Israel's national emergency services/.
Pakistan's Foreign Office has condemned Israeli missile strikes on Iran as a 'grave violation of international law' and urged the United Nations to take immediate steps to halt the aggression and hold Israel accountable.
Pakistan, which does not recognize Israel, has for decades called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
The Lahore demonstration reflects growing domestic pressure on the Pakistani government to take a stronger stance against Israel as the conflict deepens and oil prices rise, potentially squeezing Pakistan's economy and foreign exchange reserves.
Israel has long been determined to prevent Iran, its fiercest enemy, from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Since the rise of the Islamic Republic at the end of the 1970s, Iran's rulers have repeatedly pledged to destroy Israel.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
36 minutes ago
- Arab News
World should not obsess about American political trivialities
Time was when financially healthy news organizations had deep enough pockets to deploy their reporters to remote corners of the world. Well-staffed foreign bureaus in capitals from Beirut to Bogota ensured that landmark events — wars, revolutions, coups, epidemics and natural disasters — not only made headlines but received sustained coverage. But the collapse of the traditional business model since the advent of the internet has, over time, refocused news media attention and scarce journalistic resources away from the turning points of history — and toward the trivial twists and turns of American politics. This transformation from comprehensive global coverage to domestic-focused reporting represents one of journalism's most significant shifts in the digital age. The financial foundation eroded as long-profitable newspapers steadily lost classified advertising revenue and giant television networks found their overseas staffing budgets squeezed. This happened even as economic developments collectively termed globalization briefly inspired books with upbeat names like 'One World, Ready or Not,' 'The World is Flat' and 'The Great Convergence.' Today, the demands of clickbait economics are such that global news coverage frequently centers on social media posts by the US president or vice president, US election campaign gaffes or obscure debates in the New York mayoral race. Meanwhile, across Asia, Africa and Latin America, decisions and developments that touch the lives of millions of people are largely ignored. Consider Asia. The true death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic remains a mystery even now. Data shows significant excess mortality across the region during 2022 and beyond, with multiple countries experiencing substantial underreporting of deaths, though the exact timing and scale vary considerably by nation. Such untold stories deserve media attention not because a handful of nongovernmental organizations think so, but because the world needs to better understand the mistakes that likely caused the pandemic, which in turn led to severe social and economic disruptions and mass deaths. The global media industry's obsession with every Trump post and every Senate procedural skirmish has no practical benefit Arnab Neil Sengupta Turning to South America, how much coverage have troubling developments in Nicaragua, Venezuela, Colombia and Bolivia received internationally in recent times? Hardly any. Cuba, politically frozen in time as it remains, flits in and out of the headlines depending on whether the news from the island state is bad or worse. Even relatively stable Chile's post-Pinochet trajectory — a mix of economic stability and protests against inequality — is a compelling story that seldom gets told. Meanwhile, health, education, environment, migration and tech success stories from the Arab world compete with endless commentary on American, British, French and German electoral politics and the private lives of their leaders. A UNESCO report found that global exports of cultural services doubled between 2005 and 2019, but how often do we hear about that in newscasts compared with stories about the British royal family's contretemps during the same period? As already stated, one reason for this oversimplification of news coverage is financial. Newspapers once supported worldwide coverage with print advertising revenue. Now, they rely on web clicks, chiefly driven by domestic politics. Another is less tangible: there is an exaggerated belief in American exceptionalism. When the US sneezes — literally, when a prominent investor or tech CEO coughs on camera — it can supposedly have global consequences. By contrast, when a hurricane or flood drowns a Caribbean or Pacific island, it is likely to be treated as an ephemeral story of limited relevance to the rest of the world. None of this is to play down the international importance of US politics. The American president still oversees the world's largest military and economy. Foundational ideas of global policy continue to emerge from institutions and offices in Washington and New York. But the global news media industry's obsession with every Trump post on his social media platform and every Senate procedural skirmish has no practical benefit. It threatens to convert journalism into a form of gossip, distracting citizens everywhere — think Middle East — from profound local and regional challenges. The world stands at several inflection points: Asia's overreliance on exports to the US and deepening geopolitical divides; Africa's economic dynamism and population pressures; Latin America's democratic backsliding and left-wing resurgence; Global North-Global South disagreements over climate change culpability and costs; and migration's impact on Western societies and politics. These are matters of life and death. What does not move the global needle even slightly are exchanges between commentators and inexperienced American podcasters. But they generate clicks and, so, they drown out the rest of the world's voices. The media's addiction to political theater is a problem regardless of its geographical location. It promotes a narrow worldview, breeds parochialism, encourages tribalism and blind loyalty, and has a negative impact on impressionable young minds. It also provides fodder for conspiracy theories and the delusion that every disappointing development in the world somehow traces back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. What citizens of this interconnected age can do as news consumers is to force content providers to get their journalistic priorities right Arnab Neil Sengupta Traditional media ownership concentration has worsened the coverage imbalance. Public service broadcasters and independent outlets — crucial for fair and balanced reporting complemented by unemotional analysis — have shrunk or fallen silent. Indeed, some non-Western media outlets now offer far more coverage of global crises than the big-name TV networks, although they too are not free of political bias and selective outrage. What citizens of this interconnected age can do as news consumers is to force content providers to get their journalistic priorities right. That would mean restoring international bureaus, investing in foreign-language journalism and teaching audiences why, say, landmark economic reforms in Argentina matter more than the next theatrical debate in the US Senate. That would also require major media company owners to ask tough questions: Why are reporters given freedom to slant their reports in a way that helps them amass followers on social media platforms? Why have entertainment metrics replaced analysis of impact on policies and public opinion? Why are some conflicts given much greater prominence over others? Perhaps there is a way to reset the narrative. If the international audiences of social media and online behemoths insist that the gaze of their algorithms wander beyond the Beltway bubble. If they demand that media companies — particularly those based in the world's biggest economy — reinvest in the principles of old-school reporting and newsgathering from around the world. Because global challenges could be better handled without trivial American-centric distractions. Media companies should commit to allocating at least 15 percent of editorial resources to international coverage, establishing benchmarks for global story diversity. Imagine the long-term benefits of in-depth stories from Nairobi, Caracas and Jakarta. What could go wrong with sending reporters to speak to hapless African climate refugees in the Sahel or forgotten Kurdish veterans of the campaign against Daesh in northeast Syria? International audiences would finally see that America is not the globe. The US will likely remain a superpower, but it is not the be all and end all of human existence. The rest of the world still matters.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Putin and Erdogan condemn Israeli actions against Iran in phone call, Kremlin says
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel's 'act of force' against Iran and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities when they spoke by phone on Monday, the Kremlin said. 'Both sides expressed the most serious concern about the ongoing escalation of the Iran-Israel conflict, which has already led to a large number of casualties and is fraught with serious long-term consequences for the entire region,' a Kremlin statement said. 'The leaders spoke in favor of an immediate cessation of hostilities and the settlement of contentious issues, including those related to the Iranian nuclear program, exclusively by political and diplomatic means.' The two sides agreed to remain in close cooperation, the statement said.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
US senator moves to limit Trump's war powers on Iran, as Mideast conflict escalates
A Democratic senator introduced legislation on Monday to prevent US President Donald Trump from using military force against Iran without Congress's authorization, as an escalating battle between Israel and Iran raised fears of broader conflict. Tim Kaine of Virginia has tried for years to wrest back Congress's authority to declare war from the White House. During Trump's first term, in 2020, Kaine introduced a similar resolution to rein in Trump's ability to wage war against Iran. That measure passed both the Senate and House of Representatives, winning some Republican support, but did not garner enough votes to survive the Republican president's veto. Kaine said his latest war powers resolution underscores that the US Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the sole power to declare war and requires that any hostility with Iran be explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for the use of military force. 'It is not in our national security interest to get into a war with Iran unless that war is absolutely necessary to defend the United States. I am deeply concerned that the recent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran could quickly pull the United States into another endless conflict,' Kaine said in a statement. Under US law, war powers resolutions are privileged, meaning that the Senate will be required to promptly consider and vote on the matter. Israel's military launched attacks on Iran on Friday with the stated aim of wiping out Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Iran, which says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, responded with missile attacks on Israel. Both countries have kept up their attacks, killing and wounding civilians and raising concern among world leaders meeting in Canada this week that the biggest battle between the two old enemies could lead to a broader regional conflict. Trump has lauded Israel's offensive while denying Iranian allegations that the US has taken part and warning Tehran not to widen its retaliation to include US targets. Before leaving for the summit in Canada on Sunday, Trump was asked what he was doing to de-escalate the situation. 'I hope there's going to be a deal. I think it's time for a deal,' he told reporters. 'Sometimes they have to fight it out.'
