Collective stance on Palestine | OP-ED | Security Lense | 11-Nov-2024
October 7th, 2024 marked one whole year of Israel’s aggression, oppression, and barbarity on the Palestinian lands and civilians making almost 42,000 assassinations. The sufferings of those innocent people have been heard throughout the year by everyone yet the genocide couldn’t stop and Israel’s domination prevailed because of its power as well as the unbeatable support by the West, particularly the USA.
Considering Pakistan, the only Muslim state being nuclear power and a strong army, still it couldn’t provide help for the suppressed Palestinians. The main reason quoted in this regard is that pursuing national interests first, Pakistan had to deal domestic issues particularly political instability and economic crisis.
Political Leaders Unite: Key Takeaways from the Multi-Party Conference
On 7th October, a Multi-Party Conference (MPC) was held where all major political parties of Pakistan, except PTI, joined hands, setting aside their political differences, vowing strenuous support for Gaza. The center point of this meeting among various political leaders rested upon the demand for an immediate ceasefire to stop the genocide.
In this regard, PM Shehbaz Sharif met with People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Jamat-e-Islami Ameer Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman at the President’s house in Islamabad. Hafiz Naeem strongly condemned Israeli occupation highlighting its recent attacks on Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. Bilawal Bhutto claimed that the march to express solidarity with Gaza is a positive step forward in Pakistani politics. [zb1]
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarrar was also present in this conference and he declared that all political parties are on the same page for the issue of Palestine. Furthermore, he affirmed that Pakistan will always support the Palestinian cause and the declaration of this meeting will be shared with other states.
PPP Leader Sherry Rehman emphasized the fact that the entire nation stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine and Lebanon. Several other significant leaders like PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam President Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gillani also shared their viewpoints during the meeting.
A great number of delegates suggested the two-state solution to end this war while Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman was in favor of completely expelling all the Jews and giving Palestinians their complete land. To end this Zionist agenda and its conspiracy from the Arab world, there is a dire need to take immediate action, but who is going to do that?
Nawaz Sharif declared the UN to be completely helpless because no implementation of its resolutions can be seen in this scenario. We need to understand that Palestine’s cause is not and never was merely a religious conflict, rather it has always been a human rights issue and Israeli occupation of Palestine has always displayed the worst crimes against humanity.
Challenges and Solutions for Supporting Palestine
Realistically, examining the larger picture reveals that undermining Israel’s might is practically impossible. Particularly, because of Israel’s own military and economic strength and the unprecedented support that it gets from the West, it seems a very idealistic approach to liberate whole Palestine, even though that should be done back in 1948. The lack of unity of the whole Muslim world is also an obstacle when challenging an economic giant like Israel because there exist many interstate and interfaith differences among Muslim states that need to be kept aside. Analyzing the circumstances, a better way out is to have Palestinian authority where Palestinians used to reside particularly Gaza, West Bank where their right of self-determination can be practiced.
Considering the state of Pakistan and its political structure, coming together of all the political parties can prove to be fruitful for Palestine. Additionally, it can also be a way forward for political stability in our own country as at least, there is one point where all parties are on the same side. Presenting the key takeaways from All Parties Conference of October 7th to rest of the world, especially the Muslim bloc, can strengthen Pakistan’s point of view and this collaboration might lead to inclusion of other states too.
Moving Forward: Global Outreach and Domestic Stability
Also, Pakistan got the chance to host the 23rd annual summit of SCO in Islamabad on 15th-16th October, 2024 which is a worth-mentioning achievement. In the coming future, if the bilateral ties between Pakistan and SCO states get strengthened, the room for collaborating for Palestine can be opened and somehow, it can challenge the monopoly of Israel in the region. The platform of OIC and Pakistan being a prominent member of it, can make a good blend to support Palestine’s cause. Moreover, effective engagement with EU states that advocate human rights the most, can also be a way forward for restoring life and peace in Palestine.
There is a lot to understand about Palestine issue than what we see, read and listen to. The war does not have a history of one year rather, it has roots that date back to the year 1948 or perhaps even before to the end of WWII when British had to fulfill its promises given to the Arab world. While listening to news about Palestine, we need to analyze critically and while reading such content, it is a must to read between the lines and understand the hidden context.
For Pakistan, the political parties must keep up the support and try to maintain the efforts and extend them from verbal to implementation level. Moreover, considering the recent 26th Amendment, the state has to sort out the domestic issues as soon as possible to pay attention to the crisis of Arab world.
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