ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan has questioned Israel’s commitment to peace in the Middle East as the UN Security Council condemned recent strikes by the Jewish state on Qatar’s capital Doha, with Islamabad making it clear that it was fully capable of defending itself against any external threat.
Pakistan also hit back after the Zionist state defended its Doha strikes, rejecting the sharp condemnation on Thursday by most members of the UN Security Council of its aggression against Qatar while asserting that the US action against Osama bin Laden had drawn no criticism.
This set off a heated exchange between the two adversaries. Pakistan does not recognise Israel and is at the forefront of advocating for a free Palestinian state at international fora.
The exchange took place during the Security Council’s debate on the situation in the Middle East, convened by Pakistan, Algeria and Somalia, under South Korean presidency.
“It is unacceptable, indeed, ludicrous, for an aggressor, an occupier, a serial violator of UN Charter and international law — that is Israel — to abuse this chamber and disrespect the sanctity of this council,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, the permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, said in his right to reply.
“By pointing fingers at others, baseless assertions, primarily aimed at masking its own illegal actions and violations of international law,” he told the 15-member council.
Pakistan also questioned whether the release of hostages held by Hamas was a priority for Israel. “It is evident that Israel, the occupying power, is bent on doing everything to undermine and blow up every possibility of peace,” Ambassador Ahmad told the council.
In his defence of its “illegal and unprovoked” Qatar attack, Israeli Ambassador Danny Dannon remained defiant, saying, there was no sanctuary for terrorists, not in Gaza, not in Tehran, not in Doha.
“There is no immunity for terrorists. History will not be kind to accomplices. Either Qatar condemns Hamas, expels Hamas and brings Hamas to justice, or Israel will,” he warned.
In a tough rejoinder, Ambassador Ahmad said, “It [Israel] is an occupier that does not listen to anyone; that does not pay heed to any advice, even from its friends, if there are any left; that refutes, and not just refutes, it threatens members of the international community, international media, international human rights and humanitarian organisations, doesn’t listen to the ICJ or the ICC, and threatens the UN and its senior officials; and it does that with impunity.
“Shielded by its apologists, who time and again acquiesce in its illegal actions and defiance of the international community. And like all occupiers, despite being the aggressor, it feigns and plays the victim, but today, it is totally exposed.”
About the unrelated bin Laden incident and Israeli envoy’s misleading remarks regarding Pakistan, Ambassador Ahmad said he did so in an effort to justify its own illegal actions and violations of international law.
In fact, he rejected the false analogy. “Pakistan’s position on that incident has been clearly stated and is publicly available,” the Pakistani envoy said, adding, “The international community is well aware of Pakistan’s frontline role and sacrifices in the international community’s fight against terrorism.
“The entire world, including our partners, acknowledges that al Qaeda was largely decimated due to Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts. And we remained committed in this global, collective endeavour.
“That is, in fact, the perpetrator of the worst kind of state terrorism that we are witnessing in Gaza, and in fact, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories for decades,” the Pakistani envoy said.
“For whatever way it interprets these statements in this council, the occupying power must go back and read carefully the statement issued by the Security Council today.”
In Islamabad, the Foreign Office on Friday said Pakistan was closely following the developments in the Middle East and made clear it was fully capable of defending itself against any external threat.
At his weekly news briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan was asked whether Pakistan was concerned with the manner with which Israel was expanding its military maneuvers such as launching strikes on Qatar.
Without explicitly mentioning Israel, he replied: “What is happening right now in the Middle East, which is our immediate neighbourhood, we follow it very closely. But let me be absolutely clear, Pakistan is fully capable of defending itself against any external threat.”
“Pakistan remains a responsible nuclear state and a proponent of regional peace and stability. However, any misadventure or threat to Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity will be met with a resolute response,” he cautioned.
Ambassador Khan denounced what he termed “insinuations from an irresponsible rogue state,” accusing Israel of committing “the worst kind of state terrorism” in Gaza and across the Occupied Palestinian Territories for decades. He also emphasized that Pakistan rejects any “false analogy,” echoing the position taken by Qatar in the council.
He urged the Israeli delegation to carefully read the Security Council’s latest statement, which he described as “unanimously adopted,” though he added that it “should have been stronger.”
The spokesperson said statements issued by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar were very clear that repeated Israeli attacks against sovereign states in the region were a matter of grave concern, not only for the Muslim Ummah but also for the wider international community.
“These provocations represent a dangerous pattern that threatens regional peace and security. The issue has been actively taken up within the OIC, whose member States have strongly condemned the aggression and expressed full solidarity with the affected countries, most recently, Qatar.”
The spokesperson said an extraordinary Arab-Islamic summit had also been called in Doha on 15th September to deliberate on a joint response.
