On October 13, 2023, Pakistan voiced its deep concerns regarding the ongoing cycle of occupation, oppression, and violence in Palestine. During the sixth committee meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York, Second Secretary Rabia Ijaz, representing Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the UN, condemned the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, emphasizing the indiscriminate aerial bombardment and inhumane blockade of essential resources as forms of collective punishment imposed by Israeli Occupation forces.
Ijaz further stated that these actions amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, with the current cycle of aggression and violence being a direct result of over seven decades of illegal Israeli occupation, aggression, and disregard for international law, including UN Security Council resolutions recognizing the Palestinians’ inalienable right to self-determination.
She called for international cooperation to work toward a just, comprehensive, and lasting two-state solution, featuring a viable, sovereign, and contiguous State of Palestine based on pre-1967 borders, with Al Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Rabia Ijaz also asserted that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed territory and is not an integral part of India, emphasizing that it is not a domestic matter of India. She cited UN Security Council resolutions, which determine that the final status of Kashmir should be decided by its people through a UN-supervised plebiscite. Ijaz noted India’s obligation to comply with this decision according to Article 25 of the UN Charter, and she criticized India’s unilateral actions to change the status of the territory, along with its military presence and human rights abuses in Kashmir.
