Daily Times

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said an All Parties Conference (APC) would be held on October 7 to take a unified stance on Palestine issue.

The nationwide Day of Solidarity would also be observed on the day in order to show solidarity with the innocent Palestinian men, women and children facing the worst Israeli brutalities.

The prime minister took the decision to the effect during his meeting with Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and the Jamaat-e-Islami delegation led by its Ameer Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman at the Prime Minister House.

It was also decided in the meeting that on October 7, public gatherings and seminars would be held across the country to show solidarity with the Palestinian people and to protest against the ongoing Israeli aggression.

A committee comprising Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Sherry Rehman, Khawaja Saad Rafique, and Nayyar Bukhari was formed for organizing the All Parties Conference, and supervise events marking the Day of Solidarity.

President Asif Ali Zardari will also attend the All Parties Conference.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari extended his full support for observing the Day of Solidarity, condemning the ongoing oppression of innocent Muslims in Palestine and Gaza.

The participants of the meeting resolved to raise their voice against the Israeli aggression and worst brutalities against the innocent people in Gaza and Palestine, and show solidarity with them.

They praised the Jamaat-e-Islami for taking an initiative to express solidarity with the innocent Palestinians and highlight Israeli aggression in Gaza and Palestine.

The JI Ameer also lauded the prime minister’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly for raising the issue of ongoing Israeli atrocities against Palestinians, and commended the walkout by the Pakistani delegation, led by the prime minister, at the start of the Israeli prime minister’s speech.

Separately, Foreign Secretary, Amna Baloch reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering stance on Palestine, calling for an immediate end to Israel’s illegal occupation and urged the international community to uphold Palestinian rights during a debate at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Thursday.

Addressing the UNHRC debate on the situation of human rights in occupied Palestine, Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch presented Pakistan’s consistent position on the urgent and imperative necessity of upholding international law, especially at a time of grave threats to regional peace, security, and the credibility of the international system.

She emphasized that all human rights flow from the right to self-determination, which was enshrined in the UN Charter and international human rights law.

Aggression and settler-colonialism in Palestine could no longer be rewarded with impunity, she said adding that Israel’s illegal occupation must end and the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination must be realised to avert genocide and apartheid.

The foreign secretary also reiterated Pakistan’s consistent support for a viable, sovereign, and contiguous State of Palestine based on pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.