Caretaker FM says Pakistan ready to airlift injured Palestinians

Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani said on Friday that Pakistan is ready to airlift injured Palestinians. His comments came following the Israel-Hamas truce which came into effect today.

Jilani was responding to a calling attention notice in the Senate today.

The caretaker minister said Pakistan is also in contact with Jordan and Egypt and has offered that Islamabad will be happy to treat the injured Palestinians in Pakistan.

However, the minister explained that the situation in Gaza was such that there was no possibility for any country to establish a health facility in the war-hit region.

Highlighting Pakistan’s contributions to the cause, Jilani said that Pakistan, along with Saudi Arabia, co-sponsored the OIC extraordinary session of foreign ministers held last month in Jeddah to address the escalating military situation in Gaza.

“Pakistan played a crucial role among the eight foreign ministers who collaborated on a unanimous document during the OIC summit,” he said.

Jilani further said that Pakistan also played a role in the passage of the United Nations resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce between Israel and Hamas.

“I got calls from 10-15 foreign ministers who appreciated Pakistan for the role it played in developing consensus,” said Jilani.

Ceasefire

Hamas is set to release a first group of 13 Israeli women and child hostages today, the first break in a war that has devastated the besieged Gaza enclave.

The truce involves a comprehensive ceasefire in north and south Gaza, followed by the release of some of the more than 200 hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 attack inside Israel, mediators in Qatar said.