https://arab.news/jpfft
- Ahsan Iqbal launches the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for Gaza and Lebanon at the conference in Islamabad
- He says the Western narrative on human rights has been exposed as Israel carries out ‘genocide’ in Palestine
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said on Friday the people of Pakistan have a strong bond with Palestinians, as he addressed a conference focused on the humanitarian response to the situation in Gaza and Lebanon, organized by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
The NDMA has sent 11 relief consignments, totaling about 1,154 tons of medicines and other necessary items, to the two conflict zones in the Middle East since October last year.
The national conference, organized by NDMA officials, brought together representatives from the media and various international and local non-governmental organizations to mobilize further support for the residents of Gaza and Lebanon.
“The people of Pakistan have a deep connection with Palestine, a bond that dates back even before the creation of Pakistan,” the minister said at the gathering.
He noted that Pakistan’s founding father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had voiced concerns for Palestinian Muslims as early as 1934.
“The people of Pakistan have consistently stood shoulder to shoulder with Palestinians and highlighted their rights, just as we have advocated for the cause of the people of Kashmir on the international stage,” he added.
Iqbal emphasized the severe humanitarian needs resulting from Israel’s war in Palestine and Lebanon, stressing the urgent necessity to extend support to the affected populations.
He announced the establishment of the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for Gaza and Lebanon, to generate and channel aid from Pakistanis to those living in Gaza and Lebanon.
The Pakistani minister criticized the Western narrative on human rights, saying it had been exposed as Western states looked the other way while unarmed Palestinians were killed, and Israel was given the “license to carry out genocide.”
The war in Gaza has lasted over a year, leading to nearly 43,000 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children.
More recently, Israel opened another front in Lebanon, with the stated objective of destroying Hezbollah targets, raising fears of a wider war in the region, potentially involving Iran.