Pakistan welcomes ‘Declaration of Unity’ by Palestinian factions

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday welcomed the ‘Declaration of Unity’ signed by the Palestinian political factions in Beijing while recognising and commending China’s role in bringing the factions together for meaningful negotiations.

“Unity amongst the Palestinian people is of paramount significance in view of the ongoing war crimes against the Palestinian people, particularly in Gaza, and the blatant disregard for international law by the Israeli occupation forces,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at her weekly press briefing.

Calling upon the international community to intervene immediately to bring an end to the ongoing illegal and incessant aggression in Gaza, she reiterated Pakistan’s support for the realisation of the inalienable right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, their right of return to Palestine and the establishment of an independent state of Palestine with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, the official news agency reported.

Regarding the periodic report of the Human Rights Committee in Geneva on India, she said during the proceedings, important questions were raised about arrests under draconian laws like Public Safety Act and Public Security Act, and frequent suspension of mobile internet service in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

“This demonstrates continuing concerns of the international human rights machinery about the dismal human rights situation in IIOJK. We call on the international community to take note of these human rights abuses by India in IIOJK and to bring an end to the suppression of the Kashmiri people,” she said and reiterated Pakistan’s continued political, diplomatic and moral support to Kashmiri people.

The spokesperson announced that at the invitation of the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit Tehran on July 30 to attend the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s President-elect Dr Masoud Pezeshkian.

The visit attests to the commitment by the two countries to strengthen leadership level engagement and bilateral cooperation, she added.

Similarly, Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi will lead the Pakistan delegation at the 31st ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Ministerial Meeting, being held on July 27 in Lao People’s Democratic Republic, where he will take part in discussions on political and security issues, share Pakistan’s perspective and also hold bilateral meetings with the participating dignitaries.

She also apprised the media of the visit of Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov – from July 22-25 – who called on President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, besides holding extensive talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and co-chairing the 3rd Round of Pakistan-Turkmenistan Bilateral Political Consultations.

During the talks, the two sides agreed to intensify efforts in political, economic, and defence cooperation; to foster parliamentary, cultural, and educational exchanges; and strengthen collaboration in multilateral forums. The two sides also exchanged views on global and regional developments including the situation in Afghanistan and IIOJK.

Spokesperson Baloch said that the outgoing Secretary General of Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO), Ambassador Khusrav Noziri, arrived here on Wednesday on a three-day visit to meet with the prime minister, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister, and the minister of commerce.

Secretary General Noziri is on his farewell visit to Pakistan as he concludes his term next month.

Starting next month, former foreign secretary of Pakistan Dr Asad Majeed Khan will assume the position of the ECO secretary general for a three-year term.