Prime Minister Imran Khan Friday said that with the changing world public opinion, he is hopeful that Israel would soon fall under pressure of the global powers to grant equal rights to the oppressed Palestinian people.
“I am seeing a welcoming change. What is that? The world’s public opinion is changing… This is for the first time that the voices were raised from there. Their newspapers criticized it. Their media spoke against it. And politicians also stood against it which I never thought would happen in US and western states,” the prime minister said in his televised message to the nation on Palestine situation.
He said having spent plenty of time in West, he never saw their newspapers, media and politicians criticizing Israel as the country had already been attacking Palestinians. Rather they all used to portray Israel as victim, he added.
He said the social media was major reason behind that change of world’s public opinion which disseminates all the information which the mainstream media censors.
As Pakistan observed Palestine Solidarity Day on Friday, the prime minister paid gratitude to the countrymen who took to streets in huge number to support the Palestinians and condemn the Israeli aggression. He said since the creation of Israel, Pakistan remained stick to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s stance that it was an injustice to the Palestinian people and supported them at every forum.
Referring to the recent wave of Israeli aggression, the prime minister said he was at Holy Prophet’s (Peace Be Upon Him) Mosque (Masjid-e-Nabvi) in Madina Munawara when the Israeli forces attacked worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque in the holy night of 27th Ramazan. The Palestinian families were also evicted from their homes and the attack by the ‘world’s most powerful army’ also left the Palestinian children killed, he said. He said while being in Saudi Arabia, he met the OIC Secretary General and called for OIC’s stand as well as taking the matter to the United Nations. Later, he said he also talked to Saudi King Salman, received calls from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad who called for taking the matter to the world body.
During his telephonic conversation with him, the prime minister said he assured Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of all-out support from Pakistan, the Muslim as well as other right minded world stood by them. The prime minister said he assigned Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to raise the issue at United Nations as well as with OIC and other Muslim world leaders, who did it effectively which was laudable.
He said some 30 years ago, the world public opinion was changed when there had been racial bias against the Africans in South Africa with major powers also supporting that time South African government. But, he said, when the world public opinion changed, the same powers compelled the South African regime to grant equal rights to the Africans and Asians. “I am seeing the similar beginning. The world’s public opinion is changing. Insha Allah the world public opinion will force the big powers, who have so far been supporting Israel, to exert pressure for Palestinians’ equal rights. Insha Allah, the day will come when Palestinian people will get their country, a just settlement and will live as equal citizens as the Israelis do. We pray the day comes soon,” he said.
The members of civil society, workers of several political parties, students, farmers staged protest rallies, demonstrations in different cities of Pakistan on Friday in connection with Palestine Solidarity Day (Youm-e-Yakjehti-e-Palestine) to protest Israeli atrocities against the oppressed Palestinians.
The day was observed on the appeal of Prime Minister Imran Khan to express solidarity with the the people of Palestine.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Jamaat-e-Islami, Sunni Rabita Council, Majlis-e-Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen, civil society organisations and others organised rallies to commemorate the day.
The leadership of Ahl-e-Sunnat Waljamaat-e-Pakistan also visited the UN office in Islamabad and presented a memorandum, urging the UN to declare Israel a terrorist state and recommend to the whole world to sever ties with it.
The opposition parties in National Assembly led by Leader of Opposition Shehbaz Sharif also held a rally and handed over a resolution to the United Nations office in Islamabad. Addressing the participants of the rally, Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the naked Israeli aggression in Palestine. Israel martyred innocent Palestinian people, including women and children, during days of violence in the Gaza Strip besides levelling scores of buildings to the ground. “We have submitted the resolution passed by the National Assembly to a representative of the United Nations,” he said. The resolution reflected the sentiments of the entire Pakistani nation, he added.
