Photo courtesy ISPR
Pakistan Army chief Gen. Asim Munir on Tuesday met Ambassador of Palestine to Pakistan Ahmad Jawad Rabei at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi and reiterated calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Gaza and opening of a humanitarian corridor for civilians.
Offering his condolences on the loss of Palestinian lives in the ongoing conflict, the Army chief expressed grave concern over unabated violence and willful, indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians by the Israeli Defense Forces. Incessant attacks on civilian population, schools, universities, aid workers, hospitals and the forced exodus of Palestinians from Gaza are manifest crimes against humanity, he said.
According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Gen. Munir reiterated his call for immediate cessation of hostilities, opening of humanitarian corridor to Gaza, protection of civilians and adherence to international humanitarian law. He also reiterated Pakistan’s principled support for an independent, viable and contiguous state of Palestine established on the basis of pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
“Pakistan believes that the fresh spate of violence in Gaza is the result of unabated repression, continued human rights violations and state-sponsored sacrilege of Al Aqsa mosque,” he was quoted as saying by the military’s media wing. “Conflating this war with terrorism would be naïve; taking a narrow and self-serving view of the issue as an isolated attack, obscures brutal oppression spanning decades that has led to this outcome,” he added.
“At this critical juncture, it is imperative that the international community mobilizes to put an early end to unfolding human tragedy due to disproportionate and unlawful use of force by Israeli Defense Forces and desist from encouraging them to continue perpetrating atrocities in manifest violation of all norms of civility and humane conduct,” he stressed.
On Oct. 7, members of the Hamas group infiltrated into the south of Israel, killing at least 1,400 people and taking over 200 others hostage. In a retaliation that has been supported by Western states, Israeli forces commenced an ongoing bombardment of Gaza, killing at least 5,700 Palestinians, including 2,360 children. Among Israeli targets have been hospitals, mosques and apartment complexes, with Palestinians noting the indiscriminate bombardment is disproportionately martyring civilians. Repeated attempts to secure a ceasefire have failed, with the U.S. exercising its veto power at the U.N. Security Council to block efforts to demand peace and safety of Palestinian civilians.