Pakistan condemns Israel’s war on hospitals in Gaza, as hospital after hospital is being targeted by the occupation forces in complete disregard for international law.
This was stated by Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch during her weekly media briefing on Thursday.
“We are appalled by Israeli incursion into Al-Shifa hospital, placing patients, medical staff and civilians at risk. We join the international community in holding Israeli occupation accountable for its attacks against hospitals. Israel must also be held accountable for deliberately targeting mosques, churches and schools sheltering civilians who have been rendered homeless because of Israel’s destruction of their homes,” she stressed.
🔴LIVE: Spokesperson's Weekly Press Briefing 16-11-23 at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad https://t.co/Qrga0yP1ZG
— Spokesperson 🇵🇰 MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) November 16, 2023
Ms Baloch further said that backers of Israel must stop it from implementing its plans for ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.
“As demanded by the joint Arab-Islamic summit, all countries must also stop exporting weapons and ammunition to the occupation authorities that are used by their military and settlers to kill Palestinian people and destroy their homes, properties and civilian infrastructure,” she demanded.
She said Pakistan once again urged the international community to act swiftly, collectively and meaningfully to stop the ongoing aggression by the Israeli occupation forces and hold Israel accountable for the war crimes being perpetrated in the occupied Palestine.
The FO spokesperson said caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar led the Pakistan delegation at the Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit held on November 11 in Riyadh.
In his speech at the summit, PM Kakar addressed the grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws, and the war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed by the Israeli forces. He urged the international community to hold Israel accountable for its crimes and emphasized the urgency of a ceasefire, the lifting of the siege of Gaza, and unimpeded humanitarian aid.
Also Read: PM Kakar calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza
Pakistan also condemned the repeated Israeli attacks on the premises and personnel of UNRWA and other humanitarian agencies, including the headquarters of Qatari Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, she stressed.
She further said that no direct action against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in Afghanistan was under consideration. The road to dialogue with Afghanistan is still open and in this regard, Pakistan was in constant contact with the interim Afghan government, the spokesman said.
“Pakistan and Afghanistan are negotiating through multiple channels,” she remarked.
In response to actress and UNHCR ambassador Angelina Jolie's statement about Afghan refugees, Ms Baloch said such statements were being made on the basis of misunderstandings, as Pakistan was taking action against illegal residents.
A few days ago, the Oscar-winning actress had said she was “saddened” by the way Pakistan has forced over a million “suffering” Afghan refugees to move to Afghanistan, leaving behind their properties and assets created over decades.
Also Read: Angelina Jolie calls out Pakistan's forced evacuation of Afghan refugees
In a post on Instagram, Jolie wrote: “Pakistan has been a supporter for many Afghan refugee families for decades.”
Her post accompanied pictures of Afghan refugees and their families fleeing across the border with their meagre belongings.
Moreover, Ms Baloch also insisted Pakistan was not selling weapons to Ukraine, nor were Pakistani weapons being used in the Ukraine-Russia war.
