PM Shehbaz demands Israel’s accountability for war crimes in Palestine

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday took Pakistan’s clear and blunt position regarding the situation in Palestine at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit and the SCO Plus Summit, stressing the international community to make Israel accountable and bring it to justice.

The prime minister, vigorously fighting the case of Gaza at the SCO and SCO Plus summits, said that Israel was involved in the genocide of Palestinians.

The International Court of Justice, he said, had also declared Israel’s heinous actions as genocide of the Palestinians.

“Israel is wreaking havoc in Gaza and committing war crimes,” the prime minister said . The international community should speed up its efforts for an immediate ceasefire and access of humanitarian aid in Gaza.

Pakistan’s position was that all long-standing disputes should be resolved according to the United Nations resolutions, he added.

PM Shehbaz deplored that around 37,000 innocent people had been martyred in Palestine – most of whom were women and children, while over two million Palestinians were displaced by Israel.

“Pakistan is in favour of a two-state solution to the Palestinian issue on the lines of pre-1967 borders with the establishment of a Palestinian state with Al-Quds as its capital,”

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to SCO objectives of peace and prosperity, urged the member states to put in their collective efforts against terrorism, poverty alleviation and dispute resolution, particularly the ongoing Israeli barbarism in Palestine.

“I reaffirm Pakistan’s commitment to working together to strengthen SCO as an active and integrated regional forum to achieve the common objective of peace and prosperity in line with the Shanghai spirit,” the prime minister. said addressing the 24th summit of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which commenced here in the capital city of Kazakhstan.

Titled “Strengthening Multilateral Dialogue – Striving Towards a Sustainable Peace and Prosperity,” the summit is being attended by leaders from Pakistan, China, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkiye, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, India and others.

The prime minister’s address encompassed all major regional and international issues including terrorism and extremism, Islamophobia, instability in Afghanistan, poverty, climate change, regional connectivity, and resolution of disputes.

The prime minister said that Astana held significance for Pakistan where the country had formally joined the SCO in 2017 and congratulated Belarus for being the newest member.

He also felicitated Chinese President Xi Jinping on assuming the SCO chairmanship for 2024-25 and expressed confidence that under his visionary leadership, SCO would continue to grow and prosper.

Highlighting Pakistan’s ideal geostrategic location, the prime minister said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) also supplemented the SCO’s vision of regional connectivity and economic integration.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif calling the lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan the linchpin to achieving the SCO objective, urged the international community to meaningfully engage with the interim Afghan government to help meet their economic needs.

Similarly, the interim Afghan government must also take effective measures to prevent the use of its soil for terrorism against any other state, he stressed.

Prime Minister Shehbaz urged the SCO to denounce this barbarism and called for an immediate ceasefire leading to the implementation of a two-state solution which should include the establishment of a contiguous Palestine state with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds as its capital.