At UNGA, Pakistan calls for an end to war, killings in Gaza
UNITED NATIONS (MNP) – Pakistan on Friday reiterated in the UN General Assembly its strong condemnation of the collective punishment of Gaza’s entire Palestinian population by Israeli Occupation forces, saying it amounts to “war crimes and crimes against humanity” as well as a “veritable genocide.”
“Indeed, what we are witnessing on our television screens what the Palestinian people are enduring, may amount to a veritable genocide,” Ambassador Munir Akram told the 193-member Assembly’s emergency session on the Israel-Palestine conflict following the failure of the Security Council to take any action.
“We are witnessing a human tragedy of epic proportions unfold in front of our eyes,” the Pakistani envoy told delegates in the Assembly’s iconic hall.
Israel’s campaign of bombardment and air strikes, he said, has now continued for 20 days, with seven thousand helpless Palestinians – half of them children – killed and 17,000 wounded.
Entire families and neighbourhoods have been wiped out, Ambassador Akram said, adding the essential lifelines of Palestinian people – water, food, fuel – have been cut off. Over a million have been internally displaced. And, even those displaced, cannot hide from Israeli bombs, with forty percent of Gaza city destroyed.
The Pakistani envoy spoke ahead of the vote on a resolution submitted by Jordan on behalf of the 40 Arab and Islamic countries, including Pakistan, The resolution, which among other elements, calls for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce”, all parties comply with international law, and continuous and unhindered aid into the Gaza Strip.
