Daily Times

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has called Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas by phone to discuss the latest situation resulting from the ongoing brutalities of Israeli occupation forces against innocent Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

The prime minister expressed Pakistan’s strong condemnation of the incessant and lethal bombardment by Israeli occupation forces, particularly the bombing of Al-Ahli hospital.

He termed these as deplorable and willful acts of Israeli aggression against innocent Palestinians that caused loss of more than 3000 precious lives and left over 12000 injured.

Both leaders emphasized the need for the international community to urge Israel to immediately halt the bloodshed. They also agreed on the necessity of lifting the blockade on Gaza to facilitate delivery of vital humanitarian aid and medical assistance to the affected people. Pakistan has also dispatched its first batch of humanitarian assistance for Palestinian people that landed in Egypt yesterday.

The prime minister stressed the international community, particularly the United Nations to take resolute measures to resolve this crisis and uphold established principles of justice, humanity and international law. He also reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to a just and lasting resolution of the Palestinian conflict, based on the “two-state” solution, leading to the establishment of a sovereign and viable Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and the borders that existed prior to 1967.

President Mahmoud Abbas thanked Pakistan for longstanding and sustained support to the Palestinian people in their struggle for freedom from Israeli occupation. A day earlier, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar in his address to the students of Xinjiang University in Urumqi on Friday raised voice to speak for the voiceless people of Gaza under Israel’s ruthless aggression. “While concluding my address to the students of Xinjiang University in Urumqi today, I raised voice to speak for the voiceless people of Gaza under Israel’s ruthless aggression,” he said on social media platform X. He also shared a video clip of his address where he said, “In an environment where the situation in Middle East particularly with reference to Gaza has saddened millions of peace-loving people across the globe coming from diversified ethnic groups and from diversified religious groups”.

He said this act of barbarism had appalled everyone including Pakistani and Chinese nations. The prime minister vowed to play the role to stop this barbaric act against the innocent Palestine civilians. Meanwhile, UN humanitarian officials said Friday that an agreement to unlock aid deliveries across the Gaza border was near, as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered a powerful call in front of the gates at the Rafah crossing to get lifesaving aid moving.

In a passionate speech standing just a few metres from the Egyptian side of the crossing, he pointed behind him and spoke of the two million trapped without sufficient supplies for nearly two weeks.

“On this side,” he continued, indicating the convoy carrying lifesaving supplies, “we have seen so many trucks loaded with water, food, medicines – exactly the same thing that is needed on this side of the wall. These are a lifeline. They are the difference between life and death for so many people in Gaza.” To see the convoy stuck at the border makes what needs to happen very clear, he said.

“What we need is to make them move, to make them move to the other side of this wall, to make them move as quickly as possible and as many as possible,” he said, adding that the UN was “now actively engaging with all the parties” related to conditions set for cross-border aid deliveries in the Israel-United States announcement and the related Egypt-Israel agreement. “We absolutely need to have these trucks moving as quickly as possible and as many as necessary,” the UN chief said. “We are not looking for a win. We are looking for convoys to be authorized in meaningful numbers [and for] trucks to go every day into Gaza to provide enough support to the Gazan people.”

It was “absolutely essential to solve these problems quickly”, he said, reiterating his appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire. He also thanked the Government of Egypt and humanitarian partners for their efforts. “It is impossible to be here and not to feel a broken heart,” he said, adding that he hoped the food aid and medicines he had seen on planes arriving would serve the people that needed it most and that “one day there will be peace with the two-State solution, with Palestinians and Israelis living in peace.” The UN chief arrived on a cargo plane carrying 65 tonnes of humanitarian supplies including food donated to the World Food Programme (WFP) tarpaulins from the UN migration agency IOM and trauma kits from the World Health Organization (WHO).