DAR calls for immediate, unconditional Gaza ceasefire on the UN

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to pursue with urgent, an immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory.

He turned to UNSC’s open debate on the Middle East, including the Palestinian question in which he warned that what the world has witnessed in the last nine months, “is not only a humanitarian disaster, but a collapse of humanity himself.”

“Gaza has become a cemetery for innocent life as well as for international law – especially international humanitarian law,” he said. “Over 58,000 Palestinians – most of women and children – have been killed in Israeli’s brutal military assault,” he added.

Dar highlighted the deteriorating food crisis in the besieged enclave with reference to UN numbers showing one-third of Gaza’s population goes several days without eating a indicator of catastrophic levels of food security.

By calling the Palestinian question a “lacquer test” for the credibility of the United Nations and the Security Council, he warned that maintaining the rights of the Palestinian people would smooth the impact and weaken the legitimacy of the international rules -based order.

Dar confirmed Pakistan’s principle support for the Palestinian case and repeated Islamabad’s call for the establishment of a viable, sovereign and coherent Palestinian state along borders before 1967, with al-QD’s al-Sharif as its capital. This, he said, is still the only righteous and durable solution approved by the Security Council and the General Meeting Solutions, the Arab Peace Initiative and the Consensus Position for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

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He emphasized the need for urgent humanitarian access across Gaza and emphasized the importance of secure, sustained and unobstructed delivery of civilians. The protection of humanitarian workers, medical staff and the UN staff must also be secured, he added.

DAR called for immediate steps to restore auxiliary supply lines and prevent famine from grabbing the besieged territory. He also called on the international community to strengthen support for UNRWA, the UN Agency, which is responsible for helping Palestinian refugees, whom he described as indispensable for the survival of millions.

The Foreign Minister demanded a cessation of forced displacement of Palestinians as well as the continued expansion of illegal settlements and annexation of occupied territory, especially in the West Bank and East -Jerusalem. He warned that such actions were in direct violation of international law and risked further destabilizing the region.

He highlighted the importance of improvement and rehabilitation after conflict in Gaza and welcomed the Arab and OIC-led reconstruction plan as an important framework for rebuilding livelihood, restoring dignity and enabling long-term sustainable development.

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DPM also called for the revival of a genuine, time-bound political process aimed at achieving a fair, comprehensive and lasting two-state solution in accordance with international law and relevant UN decisions.

On wider regional issues, the Foreign Minister said Pakistan supported the stabilization of Syria through an inclusive political process. He urged Israel to immediately withdraw from the separation zone created under the release agreement of 1974 and from the occupied Syrian golan heights, in accordance with UNSC decisions 242, 338 and 497.

With reference to Lebanon, he said that the decision 1701 and the ceasefire understanding must be maintained, while the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country must be respected. He also confirmed Pakistan’s support for the non-led peace process in Yemen and praised the roles of Saudi Arabia and Oman to facilitate dialogue.

Dar welcomed the growing international momentum of Palestinian state and full UN membership and repeated Pakistan’s support for such efforts. He said that the time had come to give the Palestinian people what they had long been denied: justice, freedom, dignity and their own condition. This, he added, was the only way to lasting peace and stability in the Middle East.