(Dunya News) - Pakistan has urged the international community to address the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, warning that lasting peace cannot be achieved while settlement expansion, settler violence and forced displacement continue.
Speaking before the UN Security Council, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative Asim Iftikhar Ahmad drew attention to the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and questioned the continuation of Israeli attacks despite a ceasefire.
He said more than 1,200 Palestinians had been killed since the ceasefire, raising questions over how the truce could be considered effective while attacks continued.
Asim Iftikhar said illegal Israeli settlements and the forced displacement of Palestinians must be brought to an end. He also stressed that the annexation of occupied territories should not be accepted, noting that all Security Council members opposed such moves.
He called for those responsible for war crimes and other grave violations to be held accountable, saying that meaningful peace required justice as well as political commitments.
Reiterating Pakistan’s support for the Palestinian people, he said Islamabad would continue to stand with them in their struggle for self-determination.
Pakistan, he added, believed that a just and comprehensive settlement remained the only path towards durable peace in the region. He reaffirmed Islamabad’s support for an independent Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.