At the United Nations Security Council, Pakistan has reaffirmed full support for the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights including right to self-determination and establishment of an independent, viable and contiguous state of Palestine, based on pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al Sharif as its capital.
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, speaking at the Emergency Meeting on the Middle East said the Security Council must be ready to impose a cost on Israel if it defies the demand of Council and will of international community.
Asim Iftikhar said the Security Council must go beyond statements. He said the Council must act to end aggression, restore justice and ensure accountability.
The envoy said any attempt to sever Gaza from rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory is a direct attack on the very foundation of Two-State vision.
He said Gaza is and will remain an inseparable part of the State of Palestine.
Asim Iftikhar said decisions for governance and their future are for the Palestinians and Palestinians alone to make.
He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reaffirmed that root cause of this ongoing tragedy is Israel’s prolonged, illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and as long as this occupation endures, peace will remain elusive.
