Pakistan makes peace overture to India
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In a renewed bid for regional peace, Pakistan on Tuesday extended an olive branch to India, offering to resume comprehensive talks to resolve all outstanding disputes between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, including the decades-old Kashmir issue.
Speaking at a news conference in New York, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who also serves as the country's foreign minister, reiterated Pakistan's willingness for "composite dialogue," emphasizing that any future engagement must go beyond the issue of terrorism.
"Pakistan has itself been one of the biggest victims of terrorism," Dar said, adding that the offer was made in good faith and with the aim of achieving durable peace in South Asia.
The foreign minister asserted that there could not be lasting peace in the region without resolving the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. He said even US President Donald Trump had repeatedly acknowledged the importance of the issue.
Dar's comments came after his meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. During the meeting, both leaders discussed regional security and Pakistan's contributions to the global war on terror. "Secretary Rubio recognized Pakistan's sacrifices," Dar said.
On the Indus Waters Treaty, he reaffirmed Islamabad's position that the agreement is legally binding and cannot be altered unilaterally. He warned that any attempts by India to divert or block Pakistan's share of river waters would be unacceptable.
In response to a question on Israel, he made it clear that Pakistan has no plans to establish diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv. He called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and reiterated Pakistan's support for the creation of an independent Palestinian state, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif (Jerusalem) as its capital.
Earlier in the day, the foreign minister addressed the High-Level International Conference on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and Implementation of the Two-State Solution.
In a strongly-worded speech, he condemned Israeli actions in Gaza and called for urgent international intervention. "For over 75 years, the Palestinian people have endured occupation, displacement and denial of their fundamental rights," Dar said. "Gaza is now a graveyard of international law."
He cited the killing of over 58,000 Palestinians — mostly women and children — as a "grave breach of international humanitarian law" and called for accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity. "This collective punishment must stop now," he declared.
Dar outlined Pakistan's key demands that include an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire across Gaza and all occupied Palestinian territories, full and unimpeded humanitarian access, political and financial reinforcement for UNRWA and end to Israeli impunity through international accountability mechanisms and a genuine and irreversible political process toward a two-state solution.
He welcomed France's recent decision to recognize Palestine and urged other nations to follow suit.
He also supported the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) proposal for an international protection mechanism for Palestinians and pledged to contribute technical and institutional assistance in areas like public health, education, and governance.
"The occupation must end and end now," he demanded. "The best guarantee for lasting peace is freedom, self-determination, and full UN membership for Palestine."
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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (R), flanked by Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, speaks during a press conference after a Cabinet meeting in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on July 30. — AFP Listen to article Canada plans to recognize the State of Palestine at a meeting of the United Nations in September, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Wednesday, ratcheting up pressure on Israel as starvation spreads in Gaza. The announcement came after France said last week it would recognize a Palestinian state and a day after Britain said it would recognize the state at September's UN General Assembly meeting if the fighting in Gaza, part of the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel, had not stopped by then. Carney told reporters that the reality on the ground, including starvation of people in Gaza, meant "the prospect of a Palestinian state is literally receding before our eyes." "Canada condemns the fact that the Israeli government has allowed a catastrophe to unfold in Gaza," he said. Carney said the planned recognition was based in part on repeated assurances from the Palestinian Authority, which represents the State of Palestine at the UN, that it was reforming its governance and is willing to hold general elections in 2026 in which Hamas "can play no part." The announcements by some of Israel's closest allies reflect growing international outrage over Israel's restrictions on food and other aid to Gaza in its war against Hamas, and the dire humanitarian crisis there. A global hunger monitor has warned that a worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding in the enclave. The Gaza health ministry reported seven more hunger-related deaths on Wednesday, including a two-year-old girl with an existing health condition. The Hamas-run government media office in Gaza said the Israeli military killed at least 50 people within three hours on Wednesday as they tried to get food from UN aid trucks coming into the northern Gaza Strip. Israel and its closest ally, the US, both rejected Carney's statements. "The change in the position of the Canadian government at this time is a reward for Hamas and harms the efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of the hostages," the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made similar comments after the French and British announcements. A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said President Donald Trump also sees recognition of the State of Palestine as wrongly "rewarding Hamas." 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Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday that reestablishing Jewish settlements in Gaza was "closer than ever," calling Gaza "an inseparable part of the Land of Israel." Aid going in but not enough A 2-year-old girl being treated for a build-up of brain fluid died overnight of hunger, her father told Reuters on Wednesday. "Doctors said the baby has to be fed a certain type of milk," Salah al-Gharably said by phone from Deir Al-Balah. "But there is no milk. She starved. We stood helpless." The deaths from starvation and malnutrition overnight raised the toll from such causes to 154, according to the Gaza health ministry, including at least 89 children, since the war's start, most of them in recent weeks. Israel said on Sunday it would halt military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and designate secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine. 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Carney said the planned recognition was based in part on repeated assurances from the Palestinian Authority, which represents the State of Palestine at the U.N., that it was reforming its governance and is willing to hold general elections in 2026 in which Hamas 'can play no part.' The announcements by some of Israel's closest allies reflect growing international outrage over Israel's restrictions on food and other aid to Gaza in its war against Hamas, and the dire humanitarian crisis there. A global hunger monitor has warned that a worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding in the enclave. The Gaza health ministry reported seven more hunger-related deaths on Wednesday, including a two-year-old girl with an existing health condition. The Hamas-run government media office in Gaza said the Israeli military killed at least 50 people within three hours on Wednesday as they tried to get food from U.N. aid trucks coming into the northern Gaza Strip. Israel and its closest ally, the U.S., both rejected Carney's statements. 'The change in the position of the Canadian government at this time is a reward for Hamas and harms the efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of the hostages,' the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made similar comments after the French and British announcements. UK plans to recognise Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes action A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said President Donald Trump also sees recognition of the State of Palestine as wrongly 'rewarding Hamas.' U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is due to travel to Israel on Thursday to discuss Gaza. Trump said this week he expected centers to be set up to feed more people in the enclave. The State of Palestine has been a non-member observer state of the U.N. 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Dar to inaugurate Data Urs on Aug 13
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