ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has welcomed the growing international momentum in support of the Palestinian statehood and its full membership of the United Nations.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar made the statement while chairing the United Nations Security Council’s Quarterly Open Debate on the “Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question” on Wednesday.
“For decades, the Palestinian people have endured the worst form of occupation and apartheid. They have been denied their fundamental and inalienable rights, including the right to self-determination and statehood. What we have witnessed in Gaza for the last 22 months is not just a humanitarian catastrophe, but a collapse of humanity itself,” Dar said.
Graveyard for innocent lives
The Deputy PM noted that Gaza has become a graveyard for innocent lives as well as for international law, particularly the International Humanitarian Law (IHL).
He added that over 58,000 Palestinians – most of them women and children – have been killed in Israel’s brutal military assault.
“The systematic targeting of hospitals, schools, UN facilities, aid convoys, and refugee camps are not incidental; these are deliberate acts of collective punishment in flagrant violation of IHL, numerous Security Council and General Assembly resolutions as well as the binding provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ),” Dar added.
Hunger crisis in Gaza
He regretted that the hunger crisis in Gaza has reached unprecedented and deeply alarming levels. According to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), a third of the population is not eating for multiple days in a row, an indicator of catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
Litmus test for UN credibility
Ishaq Dar, in his address, said that the Palestinian question is a litmus test for the credibility of the United Nations, the Security Council, and the integrity of international law.
“Failure to uphold the rights of the Palestinian people will embolden impunity and undermine the legitimacy of the very international order we all claim to defend and uphold,” he warned. He urged the Security Council to live up to its responsibility and ensure compliance with its own decisions.
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— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) July 23, 2025
Solidarity with Palestinian people
The top diplomat reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering and principled support and solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to a viable, sovereign and contiguous State of Palestine based on the pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
“This is the only just and durable solution, enshrined in Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative and the consensus position of the OIC,” he said.
Ceasefire in Gaza
He urged the Security Council to take concrete measures for an immediate, permanent, and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza and across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the full implementation of Council Resolution 2735.
“We appreciate the ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza and hope they will yield tangible and meaningful outcomes, including a permanent end to the war. We appreciate the role played by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States in this regard,” he stated.
Deputy PM Dar called upon the UN to ensure unfettered, sustained and secure humanitarian access to all civilians in need, and the protection of aid workers, medical teams and UN personnel.
Delivery of life-saving food in Gaza
“Immediate steps should be taken to ensure the delivery of life-saving food and medical assistance, restore humanitarian supply lines, and prevent famine conditions from taking hold,” Dar said.
Dar strongly believed renewed and reinforced international support to UNRWA is indispensable to the survival of millions of Palestinians.
The Deputy Prime Minister demanded an end to forced displacement, illegal settlement expansion, and annexation of Palestinian land, particularly in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
He stressed the implementation of the Arab and OIC-led reconstruction plan for Gaza, which represents a vital framework for post-conflict recovery and rehabilitation, sustainable development, and the restoration of dignity for the Palestinian people.
Palestine statehood
“We urge those states that have yet to recognise the State of Palestine to do so as soon as they can. We also welcome the convening on 28th July of the International Conference on the two-state solution, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France, to help generate renewed momentum and take concrete actions towards achieving the two-state solution,” Dar noted.
Stabilisation of Syria
The Deputy Prime Minister, in his remarks, reiterated Pakistan’s support to the stabilisation of Syria through an inclusive political process.
“Syria’s unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity must be upheld. Israel must withdraw immediately from the separation zone established under the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, and from the occupied Syrian Golan Heights in accordance with Security Council resolutions 242, 338 and 497,” he said.
Lebanon ceasefire must be respected
He strongly believed that in Lebanon, the ceasefire understanding and Resolution 1701 must be respected, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon safeguarded. “We must support the peace process in Yemen facilitated by the UN and regional actors, particularly Saudi Arabia and Oman,” he said.
Israeli aggression against Iran
Ishaq Dar said the sharp rise in tensions and violence as a result of the Israeli aggression and unlawful military strikes in Iran was profoundly disturbing.
“These attacks set a dangerous precedent and posed a grave threat to regional and global peace,” he said.
He concluded by calling for urgent recourse to dialogue and diplomacy consistent with the UN Charter to find a peaceful and lasting resolution to this issue, in accordance with the rights, obligations, and responsibilities of all parties.
