ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s envoy to the United Nations, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, on Friday called for an end to Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, saying the Nakba should not continue into another generation of Palestinians.
The Nakba, meaning “catastrophe” in Arabic, is commemorated by Palestinians on May 15 each year to remember the mass displacement and expulsion of more than 750,000 Palestinians during the 1948 war, which led to the creation of Israel.
More than 72,000 people have been killed and the majority of Palestinians displaced due to Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip since October 2023. Shortages of food, water, medicine, and fuel continue because of restricted aid access. Gaza remains in a dire humanitarian crisis despite a fragile ceasefire reached late last year.
Addressing the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People on Nakba Day, Ahmad said the world was witnessing a new Nakba in Gaza that must be stopped.
“The Nakba must not be allowed to continue into another generation of Palestinians. It must end through justice, accountability, and the vocation of illegal occupation,” he said.
“For millions of Palestinian refugees, the international community must ensure its continued political and financial support,” he added. “On this solemn anniversary, remembrance alone is not enough.”
In nearly four years, Israel has approved 102 new settlements, nearly doubling the 127 that previously existed. According to Ahmad, these measures were deliberately aimed at permanently altering realities on the ground.
At the same time, settler violence has been escalating at an unprecedented rate. In 2025, the UN recorded the highest number of settler-related attacks against Palestinians since systematic documentation began in 2006.
Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the people of Palestine in their struggle for self-determination, freedom, and dignity.
Pakistan has consistently supported the legitimate rights of Palestinians including the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
