THE multi-party conference, held in Islamabad on Monday, represented the voice of the nation by expressing all out support for oppressed people of Palestine, who are bracing the worst kind of atrocities at the hands of the Jewish state for the last one year. The mega event adopted a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and expressing unwavering support for the inalienable right of the people of Palestine to self-determination and for the relevant OIC and UN resolutions on Palestine that call for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied Palestinian Territories and a peaceful and negotiated solution to the conflict. It also demanded the immediate, unimpeded provision of humanitarian aid and to hold Israel accountable for violations of international law, war crimes and genocide.
It is an undeniable fact that Pakistan always forcefully supported the legitimate cause of the Palestinian people and contributed its share in regional and global efforts to seek a just resolution of the longstanding conflict in the Middle-East. However, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif deserves credit for promptly convening an all-parties conference at the instance of Emir Jamat-i-Islami Hafiz Naeemur Rehman and PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as an expression of complete solidarity with Gazans, who are witnessing genocide for one year. The very fact that the multi-party moot was attended by President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, members of the federal cabinet and leaders of all political parties sans the PTI, is reflective of the national consensus on an issue of the legitimate concern for the entire Islamic Ummah and fair-minded people of the civilized world. The PTI has harmed its own standing by choosing not to participate in an important national gathering on the issue of rights and plight of Palestinian people but it is understood that its decision was politically motivated; otherwise it also shares the same sentiments as expressed by the participants of the conference. As for the moot, it is appreciable that it debated all aspects of the conflict, prevailing situation and the way forward. At a time when Israel is trying to impose a solution in the Middle-East through continued aggression and atrocities, Pakistan once again underlined that withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied Palestinian territories and a peaceful and negotiated solution to the conflict is the only option for durable peace and security in the Middle-East.
As the Jewish state has expanded its aggression from Gaza to Lebanon and is also targeting Syria and Yemen besides posing threats to Iran, the conference called on the OIC to convene an emergency summit to discuss the situation in Palestine, Israel’s brutal aggression in the region and its implications for regional peace and security. It is time the Ummah demonstrates unity, discusses all aspects of the situation threadbare and comes out with a clear cut strategy to safeguard rights of Palestinians and territorial integrity of other countries threatened by Israel with connivance of some major powers. President Zardari was quite vocal in urging the UN Security Council (UNSC) to fulfill its responsibility of establishing peace and security in Palestine and Lebanon and reiterating Pakistan’s decades-old stance for a two-state solution by establishing an independent Palestine state based on pre-1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif rightly pointed out that the world community demonstrated urgency in resolving disputes such as East Taimur and Sudan questioning whether the blood of Muslims was any cheaper than theirs. He appreciably announced formation of working groups, consisting of field experts, who would be dispatched to important capitals to deliver a strong message from Pakistan and to sensitize the world community about the need for urgent action to stop genocide of Palestinian people. We hope the Foreign Office will get in touch with the OIC Secretariat and member countries so that the proposed summit is held at the earliest.
