Daily Times

A multi-party conference (MPC) on Monday, without the PTI in attendance, vowed all-out support for Gaza and demanded an immediate ceasefire a year after the catastrophic Israeli invasion that has killed over 41,900 Palestinians.

The fighting in Gaza was triggered when Hamas fighters entered southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 as hostages, according to Israeli tallies. More than 100 hostages remain held by Hamas.

Israel’s subsequent military assault on Gaza has killed nearly 42,000 Palestinians, according to the territory’s health ministry. It has triggered global condemnation, calls for a ceasefire and legal proceedings against Israel in the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.

The MPC was held at the President’s House in Islamabad and was attended by President Asif Ali Zardari, PM Shehbaz, Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani, federal cabinet ministers and senior political leaders, including PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, Bilawal, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Hafiz Naeem, among others.

However, no PTI leaders were in attendance. The conference assembled a resolution after discussions with the heads of all major parties. Reading it out in full, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said, “We express our unwavering support for the inalienable right of the people of Palestine to self-determination and for the relevant OIC and UN resolutions on Palestine that call for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied Palestinian Territories and a peaceful and negotiated solution to the conflict.

“The declarations assure the people of Palestine of all parties’ unwavering support for achieving the right of self-determination and unequivocally condemn the ongoing Israeli aggression in Palestine in the strongest terms,” Dar read.

“The declaration demands an immediate ceasefire and the end of aggression in Gaza,” he read. “We also demand the immediate, unimpeded provision of humanitarian aid and to hold Israel accountable for violations of international law, war crimes and genocide. “All parties support political and diplomatic efforts for peace and stability by the OIC, Arab League and other international organisations,” the resolution continued.

“We call on OIC to convene an emergency summit to discuss the situation in Palestine, Israel’s brutal aggression in the region and its implications for the regional peace and security and underscores the need for unity in the Islamic Ummah. “Pakistan will increase and redouble efforts to deliver political, diplomatic, moral and humanitarian support,” the resolution stated.

It added that Pakistan had dispatched 10 consignments of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza and medical relief for the people of Lebanon.

“Pakistan supports an independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds Sharif (Jerusalem) as its capital,” Dar said.

He also called for Palestine’s full membership at the UN.

President Zardari expressed deep concerns over the growing Israeli adventurism in the region and escalation of tension, calling for the international community’s role to take swift action to restore peace and prevent conflict from spilling over.

President Zardari said that it was crucial for the international community to take swift action to de-escalate the tension and prevent further loss of lives and conflict from spilling over to other parts of the region.

He also emphasised the UN Security Council (UNSC) to fulfil its responsibility of establishing peace and security in Palestine and Lebanon and reiterated Pakistan’s decades-old stance for a two-state solution by establishing an independent Palestine state based on pre-1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital.

Meanwhile, PM Shehbaz said the gathering bore witness that whenever the country faced a challenge, the entire political and religious leadership came together to speak as one, presented solid suggestions and expressed intent to implement them.

Questioning the urgency of world powers to resolve disputes such as East Timor, Sudan and others, PM Shehbaz asked: “Is the blood of Muslims any cheaper than theirs?”

He said the international conscience should awaken at the events occurring in Gaza day and night and being brought to TV screens. “Our first duty is to stop this bloodshed.”

The premier said the government would form a working group constituting field experts who would go to the important capitals of the world to deliver Pakistan’s message and that of the Muslim community.

The prime minister emphasised that Pakistan would continue to play its role in sending relief goods to Palestinians, adding that the government had also made arrangements for medical education of students in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking after the president, Nawaz termed the brutal attacks on Palestinians one of the “worst examples in history” and said everyone was aggrieved by the bloodied pictures on social media coming out of Gaza of children.

He criticised the global community’s silence on the matter, saying that many still did not consider it a human rights issue but framed it as a religious conflict.

“It seems the UN is completely helpless. There is no implementation of its passed resolutions.”

Nawaz said Islamic countries should take decisive measures for the issue. “Islamic countries have very big power and if it is not used today then when?”

He said world powers should also think how much longer they would continue to test the patience of the Islamic world and Palestinians with their continued support for Israel.

Nawaz said the government had to fulfil the aspirations of the Pakistani nation regarding the issue of Palestine, adding that adopting silence on the matter would be a “great failure”.

“Today, the whole world can see that Pakistan is definitely a poor country. We have societal issues, terrorism threats, etc,” Bilawal said in his speech.

“But where the matter of Palestine is concerned, every single Pakistani is on the same page,” he added as fellow conference members nodded in agreement. He commended PM Shehbaz’s decision to not only boycott the speech of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations but to lead the walkout from the UN General Assembly.