ISLAMABAD: Political parties including Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) carried out rallies across the country in support of the Palestinians and against the Israeli aggression in Gaza on Quds Day.
The rallies are being staged in different cities across the country including Quetta, Muzaffarabad, Kashmore, Bhalwal, Parachinar, Chichawatni, Rajanpur and Jacobabad.
People in provincial capitals Lahore, Karachi, Quetta, and Peshawar took out rallies to mark the day as a token of solidarity with the Palestinian brethren.
Palestinian envoy in Islamabad called on President Asif Ali Zardari wherein the president conveyed that Pakistani nation standing with the Palestinian sisters and brothers.
Israel has killed over 32,000 innocent Palestinian men, women, and kids in its deadly onslaught on the already encircled Gaza strip causing a humanitarian crisis by blocking international aid through land, sea and air.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday reiterated that Pakistan would continue its moral and diplomatic support to the people of Palestine until their liberation from the Zionist occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestine state as per pre-1967 borders.
The prime minister, in his message on Quds Day, annually observed on the last Friday of Holy Ramazan (Jumuat-ul-Wida), said the entire Pakistani nation condemned the Zionist oppression and expressed solidarity with the suffering Palestinian people.
He said for the past seven decades, Israel had illegally occupied Palestine and Jerusalem and continuously violated international laws and human rights to maintain its occupation, while the international community acted as a silent spectator. The prime minister said that the Israeli occupation and atrocities spanned over the last seven decades but its intensity increased manifolds since October last year.
“So far, 32,000 Palestinians, including 17,000 children, have been killed and 70,000 injured in Gaza. Hospitals, refugee camps and schools have been deliberately targeted. Despite the UN Security Council’s resolution for ceasefire, the unprovoked bombing of innocent civilians by Israel continues in Gaza,” the prime minister commented.
He reiterated Pakistan’s demand for the international community to play its role to pressure Israel to stop oppression against the Palestinian people. He also requested the Muslims in Pakistan and all over the world, observing the last Friday of Holy Ramzan to specially pray for their Palestinian and Kashmiri brothers and sisters for their salvation from the atrocities. He also called for prayers for peace, security and prosperity of Pakistan, and its riddance from the economic problems.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz message on Al-Quds Day paid tribute to the determination and independence of the Palestinians.
Maryam Nawaz said that the sacrifices of the Palestinian brothers for freedom will not go in vain and Israel will not be able to bend the Palestinians by oppression and coercion. The atrocities of the Zionist state on the Palestinian brothers and sisters are reprehensible.
MWM leadership comprising Allama Baqir Abbas Zaidi along with Maulana Hayat Abbas Najafi, Maulana Malik Abbas and Allama Mubasher Hassan earlier demanded that the federal government observe Al-Quds Day officially.
“Israel has ruined the territory of Gaza through severe airstrikes during the past six months. In this act of brutality, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, of which 22,000 were women and innocent children while 75,000 people have been injured,” he said.
“It’s time for humanity and the people of Pakistan to step forward and help the people of Gaza to save their lives as well as provide them with life necessities, including food and medicine on an urgent basis,” he added.
