ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has voiced concerns about Israeli actions against relief workers and aid agencies, including UNRWA in the Gaza Strip.
“After destroying Gaza’s health infrastructure, Israeli occupation forces are now targeting hospitals in Lebanon. So far, 34 hospitals have been damaged, 111 emergency medical technicians killed, and 107 ambulances targeted in Lebanon,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at a news briefing on Thursday.
The diplomat also echoed Pakistan’s call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Palestine, and Lebanon. She further stressed the need to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure and ensure uninterrupted humanitarian access and healthcare to those in urgent need.
She also welcomed the latest report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese, saying Israel is pursuing a systemic agenda of forced displacement, inhalation and genocide in Gaza and the West Bank.
“Pakistan endorses Ms. Albanese’s stance that Israel is obstructing international investigation efforts, including denying the entry of fact-finding teams from the United Nations,” she said.
Responding to a question Baloch said the report shows how Israel has been committing genocide against the people of Palestine people in Gaza.
She said that Pakistan endorses the stance of the UN Special Rapporteur that Israel is hindering global investigation efforts and denying entry to the United Nations teams.
“We support her call on the international community to act decisively, bringing an end to Israel’s unbridled atrocities against the Palestinians and to ensure unhindered humanitarian assistance to Gaza and full financing and protection of UNRWA,” she added.
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The Spokesperson went on to say that Pakistan is also concerned about Israeli actions against the relief workers and agencies including UNRWA and its continuous war on hospitals and vaccination centers.
She said Pakistani leadership had congratulated President-elect Donald Trump on his election as the 47th President of the United States. She noted that Pakistan’s ties with the United States are decades old and Pakistan looks forward to further strengthening and broadening Pakistan-US relationship in all fields.
The spokesperson added that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif would pay an official visit to Saudi Arabia to attend the Second Joint Arab Islamic Summit being held in Riyadh on November 11.
She said the Saudi government has taken the initiative to discuss the situation in the Middle East. The spokesperson said the conference would be attended by the heads of state, governments, and senior officials from OIC and Arab League member countries.
Answering another query about the passage of a resolution by the Indian illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) Assembly, calling for the restoration of the special status, Baloch said Pakistan’s position on Indian occupation is well known.
“We have repeatedly underlined that it is the people of Jammu and Kashmir, who will determine the future of Jammu and Kashmir,” she said.
She noted that Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed territory and any step that violates the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and international law is unacceptable to the people of Kashmir and Pakistan.
The spokesperson said India must understand that it cannot suppress the genuine aspirations of the people of Kashmir through coercive action. She called upon India to respect the right of freedom of the Kashmiri people and their inalienable right to self-determination as enshrined in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
She urged the Indian authorities to provide full medical care to illegally detained Kashmiri leader Muhammad Yaseen Malik and release him.
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To a question, the spokesperson said Pakistan is looking forward to receiving Sikh pilgrims for the forthcoming birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, which is celebrated on the 15th of November.
She noted that the exchange of religious pilgrims between Pakistan and India takes place under the bilateral protocol of 1974 that remains operational.
The spokesperson said the Prime Minister of Pakistan will visit Baku, Azerbaijan to participate in the “World Leaders’ Climate Action Summit” taking place on 12-13 November 2024.
While replying to a question she said no bilateral meeting is being fixed with the Prime Minister of India in Baku during the visit.
To question she said Spokesperson said Pakistan-China relations are ironclad. She added Pakistan and China are all-weather strategic cooperative partners who have continued to stand by each other over the last several decades.
“We support each other on core issues of national interest, and our cooperation extends to all domains of foreign policy. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, is an important pillar of our bilateral relationship, and both countries are committed to further expanding and strengthening this partnership,” said the diplomat.
