Mushahid condemns Western double standards on Gaza genocide
Pakistan
Mushahid condemns Western double standards on Gaza genocide
LUANDA (Angola) (APP) - Senate Committee on Defence Chairman Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, who is leading a Pakistani parliamentary delegation to the annual conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), has forcefully condemned Israeli crimes against humanity and accused its Western supporters of ‘hypocrisy and double standards’.
Addressing the general assembly of the IPU, Syed urged legislation to counter Islamophobia as it was divisive, racist and bred violence against Muslims.
The IPU comprises 170 member parliaments, of which Pakistan has an active role as an elected member of the Executive Council of the Committee on Human Rights of Parliamentarians and the Committee on Peace and Democracy, as stated in a press release issued here.
During the IPU conference, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed was invited to address the General Assembly thrice, address the Islamic and Asia-Pacific regional group meetings, and invited for an address to the Socialist International group.
In his address, Senator Syed made three fundamental points.
In his first point, Syed said that Palestinian resistance to illegal Israeli occupation was justified under international law and the UN charter, as it was a natural reaction to 56-year-long occupation and brutal Israeli practices, including the killing of innocent people.
In his second point, he drew attention to Western hypocrisy and double standards, particularly from the United States who, he said, were complicit in Israeli crimes, as they even opposed a ceasefire in Gaza since they wanted Israel to continue the carnage which led to bombings of 19 hospitals, including Al Ahli Hospital, where 500 children were killed and 25 percent of houses in Gaza were destroyed and 600,000 Palestinians rendered homeless.
In his third point, the senator said Israel always termed the Palestinians as ‘ terrorists’, whether it was Yasser Arafat or Hamas, recalling that Hamas as a political organisation had won what former US President Jimmy Carter termed ‘as the most free elections in the Middle East’ in 2007.
Syed said Pakistan demanded an end to the Gaza genocide, an end to the 16-year-old blockade of Gaza, an end to Israeli occupation, an end to desecration of Muslim holy places and establishing a free Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
Speaking on Islamophobia, Syed termed this as a big threat to interfaith harmony and peaceful coexistence in diverse societies as it stemmed from hate, bigotry and racism, often leading to violence against Muslims living in the West.
He said because of Islamophobia, core beliefs of Muslims, were attacked, so in Western countries it was necessary to legislate to combat Islamophobia.
Senator Syed was specially invited by IPU to give a presentation about the Senate of Pakistan and it’s working, especially in promoting SDGs (sustainable development goals) of the United Nations, where he spoke of the need to make parliaments more inclusive, transparent and responsive to popular aspirations.
He termed parliament as the indispensable pivot and pillar of democracy, and added that its role should be as the voice of the voiceless, and the principle of ‘conflict of interest’ should be upheld.
In his speech to the Socialist International, Senator Syed urged the Socialist International to oppose militarism and the new Cold War, reject the expansion of NATO to Asia, and promote pro-poor policies given the failure of the Western capitalist model.
He also lauded China’s Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) as the way forward for connectivity and cooperation in the 21st century, which was witnessing Asian and African resurgence and the recent Belt and Road Forum, which he attended, had 4,000 participants from over 140 countries.
The senator also highlighted Pakistan’s relations with Africa and how Pakistan had been in the forefront of supporting African liberation struggles in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Eritrea, Namibia, Mozambique, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.
The Pakistan parliamentary delegation includes Senators Shahzad Waseem (Leader of the Opposition), Senator Sadia Khaqan Abbasi and Senator Attaur Rahman, assisted by Secretary Senate Qasim Samad and Pakistan Ambassador to Zimbabwe Murad Baseer.
