Pakistan on Friday called on the United Nations Security Council to grant Palestine full membership of the world body and welcomed Ireland, Spain and Norway’s announcement they would recognize a Palestinian state on May 28.
The prime ministers of the three countries made the announcement on Wednesday, following recent recognitions by Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas. The additions have brought the total number of countries recognizing the Palestinian state to nearly 150.
Speaking at a weekly press briefing, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan welcomed the recent announcements on recognition for Palestine as a state.
“The State of Palestine is now recognized by an overwhelming majority of UN member states,” she told reporters in Islamabad. “Time has therefore come to accord full membership to the State of Palestine at the United Nations and other international organizations as called for by the UN
General Assembly in its recent resolution.”
The Spokesperson reiterated Pakistan’s call to the UN Security Council to “move positively in that direction.”
Pakistan does not recognize the state of Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch rejected the fresh order of the Indian Supreme Court, upholding its earlier ruling that had endorsed the India’s unilateral decision of revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir by abrogating Article 370 of the Constitution through legislation in 2019.
“We reject the fresh order of the Indian Supreme Court just as we had rejected the earlier order of December 11, 2023. Two verdicts fail to recognise the internationally recognised disputed nature of Jammu and Kashmir,” spokesperson said.
She noted that the Indian Supreme Court judgments cannot distract the international community’s attention from the gross and systemic human rights violation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Mumtaz Zahra said the Kashmiris had an inalienable right to self-determination as enshrined in the UN Security Council’s resolutions. “India has no right to make unilateral decisions on the status of disputed territory against the will of parties in the dispute — Kashmiris and Pakistan”, she added.
