Daily Times

Pakistan condemned Israeli aggression in the occupied Palestinian territories at the forum of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ).
Ambassador Aftab Ahmad Khokher, in a statement delivered at the 30th session of the CCPCJ, reiterated Pakistan’s principle stance on the issue of Palestine. Referring to the ongoing Israeli aggression against Palestine, he said that Pakistan was appalled by the sheer magnitude of illegal, disproportionate, and indiscriminate use of force, tyranny, and injustice being perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces against defenseless Palestinians. He said the whole leadership, Parliament, and people of Pakistan had condemned the Israeli aggression and expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine.

​Ambassador Khokher further expressed grave concern at the continuing expansion of the Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and at the recent episode of attacks on innocent worshipers in Al-Aqsa Mosque during the holy month of Ramazan. He reiterated Pakistan’s call to stop the aggression immediately and called for the implementation of the two-state solution.

Ambassador Khokher urged the Commission to play its role in stopping the Israeli heinous crimes against humanity that threatened regional and global peace and to avert this humanitarian crisis.

He also pointed out the increase in incidents of hate crimes and hate speech motivated by discrimination based on ethnicity, culture, language, and religion. He further emphasized that the abuse of freedom of expression has serious implications. He said that ridiculing the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) cannot and should not be allowed in the name of freedom of expression. He urged the CCPCJ should look at the issue as a form of crime to prevent discord and crime in societies. He called on the international community to undertake legal and administrative measures to prevent such crime.

Referring to the fight against corruption, he said that Pakistan attached high priority to ending the menace of corruption. In that regard, he urged the international community to focus on the eradication of safe havens for ill-gotten wealth across borders. He said that global anti-corruption architecture, particularly asset recovery and return framework was confronted with barriers, gaps, and challenges. He also said that return of ill-gotten money was critical to socio-economic development and achievement of SDGs. He said that the international community should negotiate a new protocol on assets recovery and return framework under United Nations Convention against Corruption.

The CCPCJ is a 40-member United Nations body. Pakistan has been recently elected as a member of the Commission.