ISLAMABAD: In an ongoing Mideast diplomatic onslaught, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi met with Palestinian Foreign Minister Dr. Riaz Al-Maliki in Turkey on Wednesday and reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to the Palestinian cause before leaving for New York to attend an emergency session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Qureshi arrived in Turkey on Tuesday and met his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara, exchanging views on the “worsening situation” in the Palestinian territories.
The fighting that began on May 10 has killed 217 Palestinians, including 63 children, and more than 1,400 are wounded. Israeli authorities say 12 people have been killed in Israel, including two children.
On Wednesday, Qureshi met the Palestinian foreign minister and briefed him on Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts “to draw the attention of the international community to the ongoing Israeli military aggression in Palestine and to find a peaceful solution to the Palestinian issue.”
“The Foreign Minister strongly condemned the Israeli military aggression, the attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque and the forced eviction of Palestinians, and expressed deep sorrow over the martyrdom of innocent Palestinians, especially children,” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement.
Al-Maliki appreciated Pakistan’s “clear, unequivocal and principled position on the Palestinian issue and thanked Pakistan’s leadership and Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi for Pakistan’s diplomatic assistance at the regional and international levels.”
In an interview with Turkish media on May 18, Qureshi said his country was banking on the UN General Assembly to play its role to develop a consensus that led to a cease-fire and end to “atrocities” in Palestine.
“So my idea is to go [UNGA) and share that truth of the world to reflect the sentiments of the people of Pakistan. I will be carrying the unanimous resolution of the National Assembly, it was unanimously passed,” Qureshi said, referring to Pakistan’s lower house of parliament passing a unanimous resolution against the ‘unconscionable brutality’ of Israel this Monday.
For the past week Washington, a strong ally of Israel, has been isolated in the 15-member council over its objection to a public statement by the Security Council on the worst violence between Israel and the Palestinians in years.
“Unfortunately, the Security Council could not reach a consensus,” Qureshi told the Turkish news agency. “Unfortunately, the joint statement could not come out because it was vetoed. So we’re banking on the General Assembly to play its role to evolve a consensus that leads to a cease-fire, de-escalation and an end to atrocities.”
Qureshi said Pakistan had played an active and consistent role on the Palestine issue, and “we expect to play a role in keeping the [Muslim] umma [community] reunited. That’s very important. That message of unity will strengthen and encourage the spirits and raise the morale of the beleaguered Palestinians.”
When asked who all would attended the UNGA meeting he said: “Some foreign ministers won’t be there physically, some will be there virtually, but it’s going to be a hybrid kind of a meeting, but I expect quite a few foreign ministers will show up.”
In a Twitter post on Wednesday, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Munir Akram, said it was “most regrettable that the SC [UN Security Council] has remained paralyzed in this crisis.”
“The world expects that at the very least the council will call for an immediate halt to the hostilities & prevent the killing of more innocent children, women & men,” his tweet read.
"It is most regrettable that the SC has remained paralyzed in this crisis.The world expects that at the very least the council will call for an immediate halt to the hostilities & prevent the killing of more innocent children,women&men."Amb MunirAkram @CNN https://t.co/846pAE1eTm
— Permanent Mission of Pakistan to UN, NY (@PakistanUN_NY) May 19, 2021
On Tuesday, Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said Pakistan would send aid to Palestine to help it deal with the coronavirus pandemic and the “medical emergency situation” created by ongoing Israeli air strikes.
“Palestine is facing a medical emergency situation and Pakistan will send aid,” Hussain told reporters on Tuesday.
The Pakistan government has also decided to observe Palestine Solidarity Day on May 21, Friday, to support the “oppressed people” of Palestine, the prime minister’s adviser on religious harmony, Hafiz Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, said on Tuesday night.
Ashrafi said on the instructions of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Friday would be observed in solidarity with Palestinians, with religious clerics endorsing the Palestinian cause and condemning “Israeli atrocities” during Friday sermons.
Ashrafi said Prime Minister Khan had also instructed Pakistan Red Crescent to provide medicines to Palestinians and make all possible efforts to assist them.
Pakistan’s political and religious parties along with civil society activists and organizations have held rallies across the country this week to condemn Israeli attacks against Palestinians.