UNITED NATIONS: The Pakistan delegation to the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, walked out on Friday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the stage to address the 193-member Assembly.
The walkout, which was joined by Arab and Islamic delegations, served as a strong gesture of protest to the presence of Netanyahu, whom the UN organs and human rights bodies have accused of being responsible for carrying out a massacre of the Palestinian people in its deadly war in Gaza.
The Pakistani delegation included Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Science and Technology Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Munir Akram, and Ambassador to the United States Rizwan Saeed Sheikh.
Meanwhile, criticism has arisen over allowing the UN address by Netanyahu, for whom International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan is seeking an arrest warrant for “war crimes”.
Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 41,534 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounded 96,092 since October 7, the Palestinian enclave’s health ministry said in a statement.
The toll included 39 deaths in the previous 24 hours, the statement added.
The Netanyahu-led government has further expanded the war by launching strikes in Lebanon which Israel claims that such attacks were aimed at Hezbollah fighters.
Tens and thousands of Lebanese have fled the Israeli bombardment.
In his address to the UN General Assembly, PM Shehbaz Sharif demanded an “immediate” end to the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip and described it as a “systematic slaughter” and “bloodshed”.
“This is not just a conflict, this is a systematic slaughter of innocent Palestinians. An assault on the very essence of human life and dignity, the blood of Gazan children stains not just the hands of the oppressors but also those complicit in prolonging this cruel conflict.”
PM Shehabz said humanity was “diminished” when the “endless suffering” of Palestinians was ignored.
“It is not enough to condemn … we must act now and demand an immediate end to this bloodshed. We must remember that the blood and sacrifice of innocent Palestinians will never go to waste. We must worry about their plight and difficulties, and stand by them.”
The prime minister called for a durable peace for Palestine through a two-state solution and demanded that Palestine be “immediately” admitted as a full UN member.
At the UNGA, Palestine President Mahmud Abbas took his seat alongside the Palestinian delegation in alphabetical order for the first time after the delegation received upgraded privileges in the Assembly in May.
Prime Minister Shehbaz said he was expressing “the searing pain and anguish of Pakistanis at the plight of Gazans. Our heart bleeds as we witness the tragedy unfolding in the holy land. A tragedy that shakes the very consciousness of humanity and the foundation of this institution.”
Pakistan has condemned Israeli attacks and called upon the international community to step up efforts of a ceasefire and ensure the safety of women and children.
