Pakistan condemns provocative, offensive desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli settlers

(Islamabad): Pakistan has strongly condemned the provocative and deeply offensive desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque by thousands of Israeli settlers, including senior Israeli ministers, officials, and members of the Knesset, shielded by brutal Israeli occupying forces.

In a statement, Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said the presence and statements of senior Israeli officials, and the repugnant declaration that “the Temple Mount is ours,” are a dangerous and deliberate attempt to provoke religious sentiments across the world, escalate tensions, and alter the status of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

He said Israel’s expansionist attempts are a deliberate effort to destabilize the region and sabotage any meaningful path to peace. These provocations risk igniting a catastrophic spiral of violence across the region.

The spokesperson emphasized that the world must not remain silent in the face of such systemic, illegal, inhumane, and unlawful aggression. Such actions constitute a blatant violation of international human rights and humanitarian laws, the UN Charter, as well as various UN and OIC Resolutions.

He urged the international community, particularly the United Nations, to take immediate and concrete steps to hold Israel accountable for its illegal actions and to protect the religious sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the rights of the Palestinian people, in particular the right to self-determination.

The spokesperson reaffirmed Pakistan's unwavering support for the creation of a sovereign, independent, viable, and contiguous Palestinian State based on pre-June 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.