Pakistan calls for holding Haniyeh’s killers to account

Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday strongly condemned Israel’s continuing adventurism in the region and its aggression against Lebanon with its strikes of July 30, also calling for holding to account the killers of Ismail Haniyeh, the Chief of the Political Bureau of Hamas in Tehran.

“Targeting individuals inside sovereign states is a violation of international law and global norms. Such acts carry the seeds of further escalation. It is yet another demonstration of indiscriminate and disproportionate Israeli aggression that has continued unabated to the detriment of regional and global peace and security,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at her weekly press briefing.

Calling Israel’s military aggression in Beirut a “grievous infringement” on Lebanon’s sovereignty and the blatant violation of international law and the United Nations Charter, she said that Pakistan stood in solidarity with the people of Lebanon and reaffirmed its support for their right to live in peace and security and to enjoy their sovereignty.

“Israel must be held accountable for its transgressions and actions. Israel’s extraterritorial acts have endangered regional security. The backers of Israel should prevail on Israel to end its unlawful military operations in violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries in the region,” she said.

The spokesperson said the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday was an act of dangerous escalation in an already volatile region and undermined efforts for peace.

“We express our condolences to his family and the Palestinian people. His killers must be held to account,” she added.

She said that since October 2023, Israel had unleashed a campaign of terror against the Palestinian people.

“Its war on Gaza and the inhumane siege in violation of international human rights and humanitarian law have resulted in misery, death, and destruction. These acts constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. We call upon the United Nations to uphold international law and to bring an end to the genocide of the people of Gaza,” she remarked and reiterated Pakistan’s support for the realization of the inalienable right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, their right of return to Palestine and the establishment of an independent state of Palestine with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

About the fifth anniversary of a “dark day in the history of Jammu and Kashmir,” the spokesperson told the media that on August 5, 2019, India took illegal and unilateral actions in IIOJK to undermine the rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

“These acts and subsequent steps taken by the Indian occupation forces were driven by a sinister plan to convert Kashmiris into a disempowered minority in their land; and to alter the demographic structure of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) in violation of international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.”

She urged India to reverse the illegal and unilateral actions taken since August 5, 2019 and reiterated Pakistan’s continued political, diplomatic, and moral support to the Kashmiri people for a just and peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute as per the UN Security Council Resolutions.

Apprising the media of the diplomatic engagements during the last week, the spokesperson highlighted the five-day maiden visit of Secretary General of the Commonwealth Patricia Scotland visit to Islamabad, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar’s trip to Tehran to attend the investiture ceremony of Iranian President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian on July 30, and the participation of Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi in the 31st ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) July 27 in Vientiane, Lao PDR.

During his Iran visit, DPM Dar extended felicitation to President Masoud Pezeshkian and congratulated the Iranian nation on the successful and smooth transition of power to the new political administration.

She said that at the seventh round of Bilateral Political Consultations between Pakistan and Sri Lanka held this week, both sides decided to explore new opportunities for cooperation in agriculture, health, connectivity and culture.

To a question about a United Nations Security Council’s report highlighting a grave threat to Pakistan’s security posed by the Fitna al Khawarij Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its increased collaboration with Afghan Taliban, the spokesperson said that Pakistan had long been conveying that the terrorist outfit had a support structure in Afghanistan. We have also been urging Afghanistan to take immediate and robust action against those using Afghan soil for terror activities in Pakistan, she added.

Regarding an attack on a UN vehicle in Tank, she reiterated that the foreigners including diplomats, tourists and workers were Pakistan’s guests and the country would make all-out efforts to ensure their security.

She told the media that Pakistani expatriates living in different countries including the Middle East were law-abiding people and were contributing to the development of their host countries.

To a query, Spokesperson Baloch said the Indian media had an obsession with Pakistan perpetually blaming it for anything. She said the Indian authorities should assess the situation in IIOJk and ensure the people had their rights and freedom as enshrined under the international laws.