ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani has called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for its crimes while emphasizing that Israel must bring an immediate end to its campaign of terror with an immediate ceasefire, lifting the siege of Gaza, and rescinding forced evacuation of Palestinians from their homes.
Jilani led the Pakistan delegation to the urgent open-ended Ministerial Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation held in Jeddah on Wednesday, the Foreign Office said here.
The meeting was co-convened by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to discuss the crisis in Gaza and the humanitarian situation of the besieged civilians there.
In his statement, the FM strongly denounced the Israeli aggression and inhumane blockade of Gaza that has resulted in death, destruction and displacement.
He condemned massacre of innocent civilians in the vicious Israeli attack on a hospital in Gaza. He underscored that the Israeli occupation forces were in clear violation of international humanitarian and human rights law, and their indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity. He called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for its crimes.
Foreign Minister Jilani emphasised that Israel must bring an immediate end to its campaign of terror with an immediate ceasefire, lifting the siege of Gaza, and rescinding forced evacuation of Palestinians from their homes. He also underlined the urgency of humanitarian corridors for rapid, secure and unrestricted humanitarian and relief supplies to Gaza.
He underlined that the root cause of the recent conflagration lay in the non-implementation of the two-state solution.
Jilani reaffirmed Pakistan’s solidarity and support for the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination. He called for an early establishment of a viable, secure, contiguous, and sovereign state of Palestine on the basis of the pre-June 1967 borders and with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the executive committee adopted a joint communiqué outlining the collective stance of the Muslim Ummah on the situation in Gaza, the Foreign Office statement further stated.
On the sidelines, the foreign minister also held meetings with the foreign ministers of Gambia, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, it added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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