ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to grant Palestine full membership of the world body and welcomed Ireland, Spain and Norway’s announcement they would recognize a Palestinian state on May 28.
The prime ministers of the three countries made the announcement on Wednesday, following recent recognitions by Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas. The additions have brought the total number of countries recognizing the Palestinian state to nearly 150.
Speaking at a weekly press briefing, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, a spokesperson for the Pakistani foreign office, said her country welcomed the recent announcements on recognition for Palestine as a state.
“The State of Palestine is now recognized by an overwhelming majority of UN member states,” she told reporters in Islamabad. “Time has therefore come to accord full membership to the State of Palestine at the United Nations and other international organizations as called for by the UN General Assembly in its recent resolution.”
Baloch reiterated Pakistan’s call to the UN Security Council to “move positively in that direction.”
Pakistan does not recognize the state of Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
In recent months, the South Asian country has repeatedly raised the issue of Israel’s war on Gaza, launched last October, at the United Nations through its permanent representative, Ambassador Munir Akram.
“These recent announcements serve as another milestone in the decades-long quest of the people of Palestine for their right to self-determination,” she said.
“The Gaza genocide and the entire humanitarian situation there have underlined the urgency of moving toward the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.”
The statement came as the top UN court was due to rule on a plea to halt the offensive in Gaza over accusations of a “genocide,” amid continuing Israeli military offensive.
Israel launched its war on Gaza after Hamas’s unprecedented attacks on October 7 that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians. Militants also took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has since killed at least 35,800 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
UAE INVESTMENT
Baloch also spoke about the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday committing $10 billion to invest in promising economic sectors as Pakistan pushes for foreign investment in a bid to shore up its $350 billion economy, which has struggled with high inflation and low growth as it navigates a tough reforms mandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif paid an official visit to the United Arab of Emirates] yesterday [Thursday] at the invitation of the President of the UAE His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan,” Baloch told reporters.
“The prime minister held a bilateral meeting with the president and held meetings with UAE investors and entrepreneurs.”
She said the two leaders underscored the importance of “galvanizing cooperation and strategic partnership,” particularly in the fields of information and communication technologies, artificial intelligence, renewable energy and tourism.
“They reaffirmed their commitment to ensure meaningful implementation of investment cooperation agreements in the area of energy, port operation projects, wastewater treatment, food security, logistics, minerals, banking and financial services, signed in November 2023,” Baloch added.
“His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan assured UAE’s support in all circumstances and made commitment of investing $10 billion dollars in multiple sectors in Pakistan.”
