PM condemns Israeli settlers for storming Al-Aqsa mosque

Pakistan on Monday unequivocally condemned the recent storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli ministers, accompanied by settler groups and shielded by Israeli police.

"This sacrilege against one of Islam's holiest sites is not only an affront to the faith of over a billion Muslims, but also a direct assault on international law and the collective conscience of humanity," Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on his X timeline.

He said that such systematic provocations by the occupying power, coupled with reckless calls for annexation, imperil the prospects for peace. The prime minister said that Israel's shameless actions were deliberately inflaming tensions in Palestine and the wider region, pushing the Middle East closer to further instability and conflict.

"Pakistan reiterates its urgent call for an immediate ceasefire, an end to all acts of aggression, and the revival of a credible peace process leading to an independent and viable State of Palestine, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, under international law and relevant UN resolutions," Prime Minister Shehbaz added.

Separately, Islamabad has strongly condemned the provocative and deeply offensive desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque by thousands of Israeli settlers, including senior ministers, officials, and Knesset members, under the protection of Israeli occupying forces. In a statement, Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said the presence and statements of senior Israeli officials, and the repugnant declaration that "the Temple Mount is ours," are a dangerous and deliberate attempt to provoke religious sentiments across the world, escalate tensions, and alter the status of Al-Aqsa Mosque.