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Arab News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan condemns US veto of Gaza ceasefire bid, condemns storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday condemned Washington's decision to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, describing it as tacit approval for the 'continued annihilation' of Palestinians, while also denouncing the storming of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli settlers this week. The US blocked a draft resolution tabled by the 10 elected members of the Security Council, which called for an 'immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire' between Israeli forces and Hamas, along with unhindered humanitarian access across the war-battered enclave. The United States said it would not support any measure that did not include provisions for Hamas to disarm and withdraw from Gaza. Reacting to the US decision, Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, regretted the council's failure to adopt the resolution tabled by its ten elected members 'to address one of the most grave and sustained humanitarian catastrophes of our time.' 'Let us be clear: this failure will not go down in records as a mere procedural footnote,' he told the council. 'It will be remembered as complicity, a green light for continued annihilation, a moment where the entire world was expecting action, but yet again, this Council was blocked and prevented by one member from carrying out its responsibility.' Calling the humanitarian situation in Gaza a collapse of both international law and moral responsibility, Ahmad cited figures of over 54,000 civilian deaths, including 28,000 women and girls and 18,000 children, with nearly 100 Palestinians reported killed in the last 24 hours alone. He said the enclave had been 'decimated,' with famine, disease and displacement spreading faster than aid could arrive. The ambassador rejected arguments that called for delaying action to allow negotiations to proceed, questioning how much more 'space filled with rubble, graves and the anguished cries of children' would be needed before meaningful intervention took place. He reiterated Pakistan's support for a ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza and a negotiated two-state solution based on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital of a sovereign Palestinian state. Ahmed said the international community had spoken clearly through the General Assembly and the International Court of Justice, while the Security Council remained 'muzzled.' AL-AQSA MOSQUE STORMING In a separate statement issued in Islamabad, Pakistan's foreign ministry condemned the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem by Israeli settlers this week, calling it a 'direct assault' on the sanctity and legal status of one of Islam's holiest sites. According to media reports, dozens of Israeli settlers entered the mosque compound and performed Talmudic rituals, prompting condemnation from several Muslim-majority countries. 'These reprehensible acts, including violations at multiple entrances of the Mosque, are a direct assault on the sanctity, historical character, and legal status of the revered Muslim holy site,' the foreign ministry said, warning that such actions could ignite further unrest in an already volatile region. The ministry also expressed concern over the continued targeting of civilians in Gaza, saying that nearly 100 Palestinians had been killed in the span of a single day, including people waiting at food distribution points. It noted that Israeli forces were operating with impunity and called for their international accountability. Reaffirming Pakistan's position on the conflict, the ministry called for immediate steps to halt the violence, ensure access to humanitarian assistance and revive efforts toward a political resolution to the conflict.
Business Recorder
2 days ago
- Politics
- Business Recorder
Pakistan elected vice-chair of UNSC body
UNITED NATIONS: In a big blow to India, Pakistan has been elected as the Vice-Chair of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC), marking a significant success for Islamabad on the global stage. The Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) of the 15-nation UN body is responsible for monitoring and guiding international efforts to combat terrorism. In a further diplomatic gain, Pakistan has also assumed the chairmanship of the UNSC's Sanctions Committee, which oversees sanctions against the Taliban. The committee monitors travel bans, asset freezes, and arms embargoes on individuals and entities linked to the Taliban, with decisions made by consensus among all 15 council members. Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN, has been appointed chair of the 1988 Sanctions Committee. The appointments come at a time of renewed international engagement on Afghanistan, including efforts led by China. Earlier, Afghanistan's interim government announced to upgrade the status of its Chargé d'Affaires in Islamabad to Ambassador. During recent days, diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have taken a significant step forward, with Islamabad elevating its Chargé d'Affaires in Kabul to the rank of Ambassador. In a reciprocal move, the Taliban government has also appointed its representative in Islamabad as an ambassador. According to the Afghan Foreign Ministry, this enhancement in diplomatic representation will pave the way for increased cooperation in various domains between the two nations.
Express Tribune
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Pakistan demands end to Israeli occupation
Listen to article As diplomats met in New York on Friday to prepare for an international conference in June, aimed at advancing global efforts towards achieving a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, Pakistan called for addressing the root cause: Israel's prolonged occupation. "Only by ending the occupation can we secure a just and lasting peace," Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the preparatory session that brought together UN member states to align expectations and finalise arrangements for eight thematic roundtables that will help shape the conference's outcome. "This Conference is both timely and essential," he said, pointing out that Palestinian people's continued suffering, the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, and the systematic erosion of the two-State solution through illegal settlements and unilateral measures by the occupying power, demand a resolute international response. The Conference will take place at the UN headquarters in New York from June 17 to 20. It stems from a resolution approved last December by the UN General Assembly and will be co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France. UN General Assembly President Philemon Yang urged countries to seize the crucial opportunity to finally make progress. "The horrors we have witnessed in Gaza for over nineteen months should spur us to urgent action to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The devastating cycles of death, destruction, and displacement cannot be allowed to continue," he said. "This conflict cannot be resolved through permanent war, nor through endless occupation or annexation. It will only end when Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in their own sovereign, independent States, in peace, security, and dignity," President Yang added. Co-chairs France and Saudi Arabia emphasized the need for the conference to go beyond reaffirming principles and achieve concrete results on the ground. "We must urgently move from words to deeds. We must move from ending the war in Gaza to ending the conflict itself," said Anne-Claire Legendre, Middle East and North Africa advisor to French President Emmanuel Macron. "Faced with the facts on the ground, the prospects of a Palestinian State must be maintained. Irreversible steps and concrete measures for the implementation thereof are necessary." Alongside, she reiterated calls for a lasting ceasefire, an immediate influx of humanitarian aid and the release of hostages. Manal bint Hassan Radwan, head of the Saudi Arabian negotiating team, called the moment "historic," stating that the preparatory meeting must "chart a course for action, not reflection." "Civilians continue to pay the price of a war that must end immediately. The escalation in the West Bank is equally alarming. Despair grows deeper by the day," she said. "This is precisely why we must speak not only of ending the war, but of ending a conflict that has lasted nearly eight decades," she continued, adding efforts to end fighting and secure release of hostages and detainees must be "anchored in a credible and irreversible political plan that addresses the root cause of the conflict and offers a real path to peace, dignity and mutual security." In his remarks, Ambassador Asim reaffirmed Pakistan steadfast support for a just, lasting, and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian Question, rooted in international law and relevant UN resolutions, based on the pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as the capital of an independent State of Palestine. "This Conference must serve a turning point, and deliver tangible outcomes," the Pakistani envoy told delegates. In the lead-up to June, he said it was imperative to restore and fully implement a ceasefire in Gaza, lift the blockade, ensure unimpeded humanitarian access including through UNRWA , the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, and protect civilians and aid workers. "Any attempt to forcibly displace Palestinians, annex territory, or impose militarized aid mechanisms must be firmly rejected". To preserve the viability of Palestinian statehood, he said among other steps: — The Conference must establish a mechanism to monitor and promote enforcement of relevant Security Council resolutions, including those which term settlements illegal and efforts made to secure Palestine's admission as a full UN Member State; and, — Operationalize the Gaza Reconstruction Plan endorsed by the OIC and Arab Group. Projects such as a Gaza — West Bank transit corridor, seaport reconstruction, and industrial zones are vital for territorial contiguity and Palestinian unity. "Pakistan stands ready to support this Conference and contribute to a credible political horizon, for a two-state solution one that upholds Palestinian rights, ends occupation, and delivers durable peace through a viable, sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital," Ambassador Asim added.
Arab News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan says will present evidence of Indian involvement in Balochistan school bus bombing at UN
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will raise the recent militant attack on a school bus in the southwestern Balochistan province at the United Nations (UN) and present evidence of Indian involvement to the international community, said the country's top diplomat at the UN on Thursday. At least six people, including four children, were killed on Wednesday when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device targeted a school bus en route to an army-run school in the Khuzdar district. Balochistan has witnessed a separatist insurgency for decades, though it has intensified more recently, with groups like the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) carrying out high-casualty attacks on civilians and security forces. Pakistan says such militant outfits are backed by India, though New Delhi denies the claim. The Indian administration also distanced itself from the Khuzdar school bus bombing, attributing such acts of violence to Pakistan's 'internal failures.' 'This was a heinous terrorist act directed against children, against students, [which is] totally unacceptable and condemnable,' Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, told Arab News in an interview. 'Pakistan is going to share the evidence [of Indian involvement] with the members of the international community, including in the UN,' he continued. Ahmad said Pakistan had also provided evidence of India's involvement in 'terrorist activities' in the past, adding it was going to do it again. He maintained New Delhi had been committing 'terrorism' in Pakistan both directly and through its proxies. He informed Pakistan would present a dossier to the UN and its member states to highlight a clear pattern of Indian involvement in militant violence aimed at destabilizing Pakistan, particularly Balochistan. 'The dossier will contain information about who is involved [and] what are the linkages,' he added. The envoy said Pakistan had, in the past, proposed the listing of Indian nationals involved in orchestrating violent activities in Pakistan. 'Some of the members of the Security Council … did not act responsibly and in fact they block such listings,' he informed, adding it was the collective responsibility of all UN members to assess the situation objectively and not protect India unnecessarily. Asked about India's unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), the ambassador said Pakistan had already raised the issue at the Security Council, as the move was highly escalatory and posed an existential threat to the country. 'We discussed this … during the meeting of the Security Council that was held on 5th of May, where a number of members of the Security Council expressed concern because it is clearly viewed by the international community as a violation of international law,' he said.
India.com
21-05-2025
- Politics
- India.com
In Absurd Act, Pakistan Brings Up Indus River Issue At UNSC Amid Maritime Security Debate
United Nations: While the Security Council was debating maritime security and expressing concern over terrorism on the seas, Pakistan tried to bring up a river issue, the Indus water. That was in keeping with Islamabad's total obsession with matters relating to India, regardless of the topic of discussion, which often makes for a theatre of the absurd. Without directly naming India but referring to it as 'one major country', Pakistan's Permanent Representative Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said it 'displayed a concerning propensity to usurp and weaponise shared natural resources -- including transboundary rivers -- in flagrant breach of treaty obligations and the principles of good neighbourliness'. After the terrorist group, The Resistance Front, based in and backed by Pakistan, massacred 26 people in Pahalgam last month, India put the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance. Smarting under the action, Ahmad said India was 'leveraging geography' to "the detriment of the lower riparian state that is Pakistan'. By avoiding mentioning by name, and using innuendos, he tried to avoid India using the right of reply to expose the assertions. India's Permanent Representative P. Harish, who spoke in the session, contemptuously ignored it. Ahmad pouted over Pakistan's exclusion from the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), a 23-member group of nations that, besides cooperating on a range of maritime issues, also take a strong stand against terrorism. The 'coercive diplomacy' of 'the one major country' has led to 'the systematic exclusion of neighbouring states from regional maritime security frameworks, including the Indian Ocean Rim Association', he griped. India took the initiative to found the IORA and objects to Pakistan's membership because of its terrorism links. As Pakistan is unable to afford an aircraft carrier and is dependent on the arms alms of China and Turkey, Ahmad also complained about what he called the 'aggressive naval expansion' by the 'one major country'.
