ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday strongly condemned the unlawful storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by hundreds of extremist settlers, led by Israeli occupation officials.
During her weekly briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that the desecration of one of Islam’s holiest sites and the hindrance of worshippers’ rights have profoundly hurt Muslims around the world.
She characterized this act as a violation of the Geneva Conventions and a blatant disregard for multiple United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions regarding Jerusalem.
Baloch called on the international community, particularly the UNSC, to take swift action to halt the ongoing and severe violations of the sanctity of holy sites in Jerusalem. She urged for the protection of Al-Aqsa’s Islamic character and the assurance of freedom of worship for Palestinians.
Expressing solidarity with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Baloch voiced concerns over the Israeli occupation’s policies aimed at altering Islamic character of the occupied Jerusalem.
She also marked the previous day’s events as a tragic milestone in the Gaza conflict, citing that Israeli occupation forces have killed 40,000 people, predominantly women and children. Baloch condemned the ongoing genocide in Gaza and called for accountability for Israel’s war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Regarding the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, the spokesperson reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to supporting the Kashmiri people of IIOJK politically, diplomatically, and morally for a just resolution, as per UN Security Council Resolutions.
She strongly condemned the killing of four Kashmiri youths by Indian troops in the Doda district of Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), describing it as another instance of India’s illegal and oppressive measures against Kashmiris.
Baloch urged the international community to take decisive action to hold India accountable for its human rights violations in IIOJK and to safeguard the rights and freedoms of the Kashmiri people.
In other news, she reported that the 7th session of the Pakistan-Turkiye Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) took place in Islamabad last week. Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi led the Pakistani delegation, while Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nuh Yilmaz led the Turkish side.
The discussions focused on enhancing bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Turkiye. Both sides agreed to strengthen high-level engagement, fully implement existing agreements, and upgrade the Pakistan-Turkiye Strategic Economic Framework (SEF).
They also committed to expanding cooperation in various sectors, including trade and investment, energy, security and defense, information technology, culture and tourism, education, and consular matters.
