New York (Web Desk): At the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Friday, Pakistan reiterated 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.”
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Munir Akram delivered a powerful speech at the UNGA where a resolution calling for a "humanitarian truce" in Gaza was adopted.
Ambassador Akram, while calling on other countries to grant Palestinians the same rights as Israelis, gave a strong statement that “The Israeli occupation is the original sin.”
“They have the same rights, they are human beings too. And if you only focus on your kith and kin in Israel and forget the Palestinians because they are different — are they people of a lesser God?”
“We all know who started this. It is 50 years of Israeli occupation and the killing of Palestinians with impunity,” he said.
The strong reaction by the Pakistani envoy came in response to an amendment proposed by Canada that “unequivocally rejects and condemns the attacks by Hamas” in Israel starting on October 7 and the taking of hostages.
Addressing the issue he further said " He (Canadian Ambassador) does not feel the need to name Israel for killing 7000 Palestinians and injuring 17000 — only Hamas. Is this balance?"
On Canadian ambassador's statement of 'What needs to be named, has to be named', Pakistani Ambassador replied " We believe Israel needs to be blamed."
Earlier, he spoke ahead of the vote on a resolution submitted by Jordan on behalf of the 40 Arab and Islamic countries, including Pakistan.
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 that “Indeed, what we are witnessing on our television screens what the Palestinian people are enduring, may amount to a veritable genocide,”
“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.
In the context of this war, he said, consideration should also be given to some form of an accountability mechanism. “The crimes being committed, which cannot go unpunished. We have several precedents to choose from.”
“Finally,” Ambassador Akram said, “for the future, we need to consider the ways to prevent a recurrence of this slaughter.”
