‘Palestine is part of our DNA’

Lawmakers in the Upper House of the Parliament received Dr Khaled Qaddoumi, the Special Representative of Hamas in Palestine, who is visiting the country on a special invitation.

In his welcome address, Senator Mushahid Hussain expressed the importance of the day for the Parliament, emphasising that the Senate takes pride in welcoming His Excellency Dr Qaddoumi.

“We are proud of the Palestinian brothers, especially Hamas, which is the democratically elected organisation of the people of Palestine, whose great mujahid is here to represent the aspirations of the people of Palestine,” he added.

The senator reminded the House that some 18 years ago when he was heading the foreign relations committee, former Palestinian foreign minister Mahmoud al-Zahar was invited to the Parliament.

“We were the first Muslim country to give a $1 million donation to the Hamas government… So we have a track record and I want to assure the Palestinian brothers that Palestine is part of our DNA because of the leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who focused on Palestine even before the creation of Pakistan,” Mushahid said.

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The Senator lauded the efforts of the ‘Palestinian mujahideen of Hamas’ for their resistance against Israeli aggression. Rebuking those countrymen who wanted to normalise relations with Israel, Mushahid said, it was completely unacceptable.

The lawmaker said India and Israel planned an economic corridor aimed at countering the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). “That plan is now buried under the rubble of Gaza,” he said.

“The myth of Israeli invincibility, the myth of Israeli impregnability has been shattered and they have shown that might is not right but right is might,” he added.

The senator reminded the House that Pakistan was the only non-Arab state which participated in two Arab-Israeli wars in 1967 and 1973.

“Palestine Liberation Organisation achieved recognition in Lahore at the Islamic summit when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the prime minister and we should maintain the tradition and take that initiative forward,” he said. “The people, the armed forces and the Parliament of Pakistan will stand firmly with Palestine till an independent Palestinian state is established with al Quds al Sharif as its capital,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6^th, 2024.