Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir on Tuesday expressed strong condemnation of the forced exodus of Palestinians from Gaza, referring to it as manifest crimes against humanity.

In a statement released by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army chief called on the Ambassador of Palestine to Pakistan, His Excellency Ahmad Jawad Rabei at General Headquarters.

During the meeting, COAS Munir expressed deep concern regarding the ongoing violence and indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians by the Israeli Defence Forces in the Gaza conflict.

He pointed out the incessant attacks on the civilian population, schools, universities, aid workers, hospitals, and the forced displacement of Palestinians, emphasizing that these actions constitute crimes against humanity.

COAS reiterated the call for immediate cessation of hostilities, opening of humanitarian corridor to Gaza, protection of civilians and adherence to the International Humanitarian Law.

COAS also reiterated Pakistan’s principled support for an independent, viable and contiguous state of Palestine established on the basis of pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

“Pakistan believes that the fresh spate of violence in Gaza is the result of unabated repression, continued human rights violations and state-sponsored sacrilege of Al Aqsa mosque. Conflating this war with terrorism would be naïve; taking a narrow and self-serving view of the issue as an isolated attack, obscures brutal oppression spanning decades that has led to this outcome” COAS remarked.

COAS said “At this critical juncture, it is imperative that the international community mobilizes to put an early end to unfolding human tragedy due to disproportionate and unlawful use of force by Israeli Defence Forces and desist from encouraging them to continue perpetrating atrocities in manifest violation of all norms of civility and humane conduct”.