The National Assembly on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the ongoing Israeli brutality in Gaza, with members saying that incidents such as the killing of Hamas’ top leader Ismail Haniyeh were “deliberate conspiracies to sabotage efforts to stop” the ongoing Gaza conflict.
The resolution, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was presented before the lower house of the Parliament by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who said the document had been prepared through all parties’ consensus.
Haniyeh’s death was announced by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who said he and his bodyguard were killed in a strike on their accommodation in the Iranian capital at 2am on Wednesday.
It came just hours after Israel targeted and killed top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in a retaliatory strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut, sending fears of a wider regional conflict soaring in the fallout from the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. Israel has declined to comment on the Tehran strike.
“[Haniyeh’s killing in Tehran had] added to the angst and grief, and such incidents are seen as deliberate conspiracies to sabotage efforts to stop the ongoing oppression and brutality against Palestinians and to establish peace in the region”, the resolution stated.
It noted that “atrocities by Israel on Palestinians have escalated, causing immense suffering and loss of over 40,000 innocent lives so far, including women and children”.
While the Gaza health ministry has put the number of deaths in Israel’s military campaign — ongoing for the past 300 days — at 39,480, it is feared that the toll is much higher due to thousands still missing under the rubble.
The NA saw rare unity as the resolution highlighted that all parliamentary parties “expressed their unified grief and anger over the ongoing Israeli oppression and brutality against the people of Palestine for the past nine months”.
Echoing the Foreign Office’s (FO) statement on Haniyeh’s killing, the NA said Pakistan condemned “terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including extrajudicial and extraterritorial killings irrespective of the motives”.
Extending condolence to Haniyeh’s family, the house decided to observe today as a day of mourning across Pakistan “as a mark of solidarity with our Palestinian brothers and sisters, and to unequivocally condemn Israeli brutality”.
Funeral prayers would also be held for “martyr Ismail Haniyeh across the country after Friday prayers today”, the resolution added.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif termed Haniyeh’s assassination a “huge blow to peace efforts”.
“While strongly condemning the killing of martyr Ismail Haniyeh on behalf of Pakistan’s government and its people, we extend our condolences to the martyr’s family and the Palestinian people.
“Whoever was involved in this incident should be brought before the law,” he said, prompting someone to shout, “Israel, Israel”, pushing the premier to name the country responsible for Haniyeh’s assassination.
“I have spoken about the Zionist state repeatedly in my speech. Once again — the Zionist state has committed these crimes [and] they must be brought before the law,” Shehbaz responded.
Referring to the death of Haniyeh’s three sons in Gaza in April, the prime minister asked: “What can be a bigger crime than this? […] What can be a bigger story of sacrifice than this in the current era?
‘Blood splattered everywhere in Gaza’: PM
In his speech before the NA, PM Shehbaz said Palestinians were facing the “worst form of violence, oppression, and brutality in history”.
“Palestine has become a slaughterhouse today,” the premier asserted.
He added that the “Zionist state (Israel) had been committing genocide for the last nine months, leading to the martyrdom of more than 40,000 Palestinians, including thousands of children”.
“Blood splattered everywhere [in Gaza] is shaking humanity’s soul, asking loudly while looking towards the sky, ‘When will justice be served and when will this story of violence and injustice end?’.”
PM Shehbaz noted that it was not just Muslims across the world, but all those believing in justice and human rights and belonging to “every race and religion” who were raising the same question.
Highlighting that even UN buildings, media offices, schools, and hospitals were targeted in Gaza, the premier asserted that Israel had exceeded all bounds of crimes against humanity.
He warned that if justice was not served and Israel was not held accountable, it would further inflame public sentiments and anger.
UNSC urged to ‘impose’ its call for Gaza ceasefire
The resolution urged the UNSC to “impose its call for a ceasefire in Gaza” and hold Israel accountable for its “war crimes and crimes against humanity”. It also called for the immediate admission of the State of Palestine as a full member of the UN.
It reiterated the call for an “immediate and comprehensive ceasefire, and the provision of sustainable and unhindered humanitarian assistance to the beleaguered Palestinians, and immediate withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from Gaza” as per a UNSC resolution passed in June.
The NA asserted that Pakistan would continue to supply aid to Palestine and “take effective measures for medical assistance to the oppressed Palestinian brothers and sisters, including medical treatment in Pakistan”.
It decided that Palestinian medical students would be given admission to Pakistan’s medical colleges on a gratis basis (free of charge) to complete their education.
The resolution expressed “complete solidarity” with Palestinians and asserted that the “Israeli leadership is intent on expelling the population of Palestine from their homeland”.
It noted that “despite clear verdicts” of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly, the UN Security Council and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and calls by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, “Israel has not stopped the indiscriminate violence and attacks against innocent Palestinians”.
