ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Friday, while expressing solidarity for the brave Palestinian people, reiterated support for the global pledge of an independent state of Palestine. The prime minister, in his message on Al-Quds Day observed annually on last Friday of the Holy Month of Ramazan, said the designation of the Day by Iran in 1979 was aimed at expressing the Muslim Ummah’s support for the Palestinian people in their struggle for rights. He said Jerusalem had been recognized as the capital of the Palestinian state where the Qibla-e-Awal was a source of peace for the Muslims. “Every year, on this day, the Muslims strongly condemn the oppression of the Zionist forces, barbaric attacks and aggression by a Zionist state. Pakistan also joins the voices for justice and condemns the oppression of the Palestinian people,” he added. The prime minister urged the international community to ensure the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions and agreements on the two-state solution. He viewed that the enforcement of the United Nations Security Council resolutions against the illegal occupation of Jammu & Kashmir and Palestine by India and Israel respectively could bring about a durable peace in the region. The prime minister also paid tribute the martyrs of the Kashmir and Palestine movements, and prayed for the success of their decades old struggle.