Latest news with #AsimIftikharAhmed
Saba Yemen
3 days ago
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Wave of anger in Security Council after US "veto"
New York - (Saba): The United States' use of its veto yesterday, Wednesday, against a draft resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and allowing unrestricted humanitarian access to the besieged Strip has angered the rest of the UN Security Council members. Pakistani Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmed strongly criticized the US veto, considering it a "green light for genocide" in Gaza and a "moral stain on the conscience" of the UN Security Council. His Algerian counterpart, Ammar Ben Jamaa, said, "Silence does not defend the dead, nor does it hold the hands of the dying, nor does it confront the repercussions of injustice." Slovenian Ambassador Samuel Zbogar said, "At a time when humanity is being tested live in Gaza, this draft resolution was born out of our shared sense of responsibility. Responsibility towards the civilians in Gaza, towards the Israeli hostages held in the Palestinian Strip, and responsibility before history." He added, "Enough, enough." For their part, the French and British ambassadors expressed regret over the outcome of the vote, while Chinese Ambassador Fu Cong directly blamed the United States, calling on it to abandon political calculations and adopt a fair and responsible stance. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Arab News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan envoy at UN urges end to Gaza blockade, calls it collective punishment by starvation
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's top diplomat at the United Nations on Tuesday called for an immediate end to Israel's blockade of Gaza, labeling the restriction of humanitarian aid as a violation of international law and a form of collective punishment through mass starvation. Speaking at a UN Security Council briefing on the humanitarian situation in the war-torn Palestinian territory, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmed emphasized the dire consequences of the blockade, which has been in place since March this year. The blockade has severely restricted the entry of food, fuel and medical supplies, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region. According to the World Health Organization, the blockade has led to severe shortages of essential supplies, with reports indicating that approximately 470,000 people are facing significant levels of hunger. 'The blockade imposed since 2nd March must be lifted,' Ahmed said. 'Humanitarian access is not a favor – it is a legal obligation. Aid convoys and medical teams must be protected and allowed to operate freely and safely.' 'The normalization of starvation as a weapon of war is a crime,' he continued. 'Collective punishment must end, and accountability must be ensured. The Gaza Reconstruction Plan must be fully and actively supported, and no forced displacement of Gazans must be tolerated.' The ambassador's remarks come amid escalating concerns over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The situation has been described as a deliberate starvation of a civilian population as a method of warfare by various humanitarian organizations. UN agencies have reported that the blockade has resulted in the closure of bakeries and the depletion of food stocks, leaving the population with limited access to basic necessities. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has also highlighted the challenges faced in delivering aid, noting that humanitarian supplies have not entered Gaza for several weeks. Ambassador Ahmed called upon the international community to take decisive action to alleviate the suffering of the Gazan people and to uphold the principles of international humanitarian law.
Arab News
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan tells UN Israel killing Palestinians at ‘four times the rate of previous conflicts'
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's top diplomat at the United Nations said on Tuesday Israel was killing civilians in Gaza at 'four times the rate of previous conflicts' as he urged the international community to move toward permanent peace in the Middle East by ending Israeli occupation of Palestinian and Arab territories. The war in Gaza, which began in October 2023, has so far killed around 52,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to Palestinian health officials. Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmed, Pakistan's permanent representative to the UN, raised the issue during a high-level debate at the Security Council on the Middle East. He described Israel's ongoing military campaign as 'the erasure of a nation's right to exist' and accused it of war crimes and ethnic cleansing. 'Israel's unilateral breach of the ceasefire agreement — brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the United States [earlier this year] — was a deliberate choice of return to war over diplomacy,' Ahmed said. 'This assault on Gaza is killing civilians at four times the rate of previous conflicts. Since hostilities resumed, nearly 2,000 more Palestinians have been killed, adding to the staggering death toll of over 52,000, among them more than 17,000 children.' Ahmed condemned the attack earlier this month on Al-Ahli hospital, the last major facility providing critical health care in Gaza, calling it a 'horrific massacre.' He said Israeli forces were deliberately targeting civilians, aid convoys and critical infrastructure, while using starvation as a weapon of war. 'The deliberate targeting of civilians and essential infrastructure, the use of starvation as a weapon, and the incineration of displaced families in tents — these are not collateral damages of war; they are methods of war,' he said. The Pakistani envoy also blamed Israel for violating ceasefire agreements and UN resolutions in Lebanon and Syria, calling the pattern 'clear.' 'As long as the root cause, the illegal occupation of Palestinian and Arab lands, is ignored and not addressed, peace will remain an illusion,' he added. Calling for immediate international action, Ahmed urged the Security Council to pursue a permanent ceasefire, full humanitarian access to Gaza and a credible path to Palestinian statehood. He welcomed the upcoming June peace conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia as a 'vital opportunity' and called for concrete outcomes, including a timeline for statehood, protection of civilians and full UN membership for Palestine. 'Seventy-five years of failure have shown one immutable truth: peace cannot coexist with occupation, justice cannot thrive under apartheid and stability cannot take root where millions remain stateless,' Ahmed added.
