Pakistan decries Israeli settlers’ assault on Al-Aqsa Mosque: FO

ISLAMABAD, Aug 16 (APP): Pakistan on Friday strongly condemned the illegal storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by hundreds of extremist settlers, led by officials from the Israeli occupation authorities, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said.

In her preliminary remarks during the weekly briefing, she stated that the desecration of one of Islam’s holiest sites and the obstruction of worshippers’ rights have deeply hurt Muslims worldwide. She described this act as a violation of the Geneva Conventions and a blatant disregard for several United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions concerning the historical city of Jerusalem.

The FO Spokesperson urged the international community, particularly the United Nations Security Council, to take immediate action to end the serious and repeated violations of the sanctity of holy sites in Jerusalem. The call included protecting the Islamic character of Al-Aqsa and ensuring the freedom of worship for the Palestinian people.

“We share the concerns of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation about the peril posed by the Israeli occupation’s policies, aimed at altering the Arab and Islamic character of the occupied city of Jerusalem,” she said.

“Yesterday marked a tragic milestone in the ongoing conflict affecting the people of Gaza,” she said, adding that Israeli occupation forces have killed 40,000 individuals, the majority of whom were women and children. The ongoing genocide in Gaza must cease, and Israel should be held accountable for its war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The spokesperson stated that Pakistan would continue to extend political, diplomatic, and moral support to the Kashmiri people for a just and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolutions.

Strongly condemning the killing of four Kashmiri youths by Indian troops in the Doda district of Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), she said this brutal action by the Indian occupation authorities served as yet another example of their illegal and oppressive measures against Kashmiri people.

“We urge the international community to take immediate and decisive action to hold India accountable for its egregious human rights violations in IIOJK and to take steps to protect the rights and freedoms of the Kashmiri people.”

Foreign Office spokesperson said that the 7th session of the Pakistan-Türkiye Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) was held in Islamabad last week. Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi led the Pakistani delegation, while the Turkish side was led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nuh Yilmaz.

She said the discussions covered all facets of bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Türkiye. The two sides agreed to bolster high-level bilateral engagement, fully implement existing agreements, and upgrade the Pakistan-Türkiye Strategic Economic Framework (SEF).

They also committed to enhancing cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, energy, security and defense, information technology, culture and tourism, education, and consular matters.