Gaza humanitarian situation blot on human conscience
Abdul Hadi Mayar Islamabad
Pakistan on Thursday urged the international community to hold Israel accountable for the war crimes its forces are perpetrating against innocent civilians in Gaza and in Lebanon.
“As the Gaza genocide continues unabated the Israeli occupation forces continue to act with impunity in occupied Palestine and Lebanon,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in her weekly press briefing.
“We unequivocally condemn the brutal and indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes on Beit Lahiya, which resulted in the tragic loss of over 80 Palestinian lives, including women and children. Its siege of northern Gaza and the ensuing humanitarian situation is a blot on human conscience,” she said.
Baloch added that targeting densely populated residential areas without warning and collective punishment of civilians by depriving them of food, water and essential medicines constitute war crimes. “As Israel continues its aggression against the civilian population in Lebanon, the UN peacekeepers have become the latest victim of Israeli aggression. Pakistan strongly condemns the deliberate and unlawful attacks by Israeli forces on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers”
The spokesperson demanded that ‘Israel should also be held accountable for its war crimes and crimes against humanity and the people of Palestine should be protected from the Israeli aggression.’
Answering a question about the statement of UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights criticizing the 26th constitutional amendment, Baloch said we believe the statement is based on misinformation and inaccurate understanding of the developments in Pakistan.
“These communications are based on media reports, social media posts and speculative analysis of manifestly political nature.
