Says Pakistanis understand a people’s right to self-determination. PHOTO: REUTERS/ FILE
President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday reiterated unqualified support to the Palestinian cause of a right to self-determination. He shared his thoughts while speaking at a ceremony held at the Sindh Governor House to celebrate Palestine’s new non-member observer status in the United Nations (UN). The Ambassador of the Palestine, Walid A.M. Abu Ali, also spoke on the occasion.
President Zardari said this was a historic occasion not just for Palestine but also for the Muslim world.
“On behalf of the people of Pakistan and myself, I wish to express my heartiest congratulations to our Palestinian brothers on this great achievement,” he said.
The president said he was pleased that Pakistan was one of the co-sponsors of the resolution adopted by the UN last month.
“We are proud that we have always stood by the people of Palestine,” he said, adding that it was great struggle and sacrifice that led to the creation of Pakistan, so Pakistanis understand firsthand the importance of a people’s right to self-determination.“Today, we also celebrate the birthday of our founding father Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
President Zardari also said the new status of Palestine in the UN has vindicated his principle that ‘right’ always trumps ‘might.’ Similarly, he said Pakistanis have supported their ‘Kashmiri brethren’ for decades so that they may achieve the same right, as well.
He went on to express utmost support for an independent and viable Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and favoured an early settlement of the Arab-Israeli crisis on the basis of the two-nation solution. The president also articulated disapproval of the new Israeli settlements which, in his opinion, can ruin the world peace process, and said Palestinian refugees have a right to return.
“Pakistan will continue to lend support to the Palestinians. The sacrifices of our Palestinian brothers will not be in vain,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 26th, 2012.
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Pakistan needs to take it all the way, establish diplomatic relations with Israel. It cannot be in the mediation process as an outsider. With how it was able to resolve the issue of Kashmir with India, it can assist with the mediation process between the Israelis and Palestinians.
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim.
We must know the roots of the Occupation if we are to ever free Filastin from it.
And its roots, unfortunately, run deep.
Before 1948, Filastin was ruled by a series of empires. "Palestine" was the name given to southern Bilad al-Sham (Greater Syria) in the second century by the Romans, in an attempt to break the Jewish adherence to the land. This was a century after the Temple (Beit al-Maqdis) was destroyed and more than a million Jews massacred.
The Jews stopped fighting the Romans only after they had no more fighting men standing. Conservative Christian attitudes toward the Jews and Filastin can be epitomized by the words of Evangelist William Eugene Blackstone, who proclaimed in 1891 that “the Jews never gave up their title to Palestine… They never abandoned the land. They made no treaty, they did not even surrender. They simply succumbed, after the most desperate conflict, to the overwhelming power of the Romans.”
This is what we are up against.
The Jews persisted through the centuries under the various empires, after the Arab invasion of 635AD (which the Jews fought alongside the Byzantines), and after the Crusade massacres of the 11th Century, which decimated much of their population.
Few Filastinun know that Jewish customs, religion, prayers, poetry, holidays, and virtually every walk of life, documented for thousands of years—all revolve around Filastin and al-Quds. They pray for al-Quds in every prayer, after every meal, in every holiday, at every wedding, in every celebration. The whole Jewish religion is about Filastin and al-Quds. Western expressions such as “The Promised Land,” and “The Holy Land,” did not pop out of void. They have been part of Western knowledge and tradition dating back to the beginning of Christianity and earlier.
After the Crusades, the Jews lived peacefully with Arabs, often in the very same villages, as in Pki'in, in the Jalil, until the Zionist immigration of the 19th and 20th Centuries. Article 6 of the PLO Charter calls for the acceptance of all Jews present in Filastin prior to the Zionist immigration. These Jews were simply another ethnic group in a region composed of Sunnis, Shiites, Jews, Druz, Greek Orthodox, Catholics, Circassians, Samarians, and more. Some of these groups, like the Druz, Circassians, Samarians, and an increasing number of Christians, are actually loyal to the Zionist Entity.
Incidentally, genetic studies show that the Zionist immigrants are closely related to groups like the Samarians who have lived in Filastin for thousands of years—a fact that Zionists view as a moral stamp of approval on their occupation of Filastin.
Few Filastinun realize it, but it will take a lot to dislodge the Occupation from Filastin, and, as described in Jonathan Bloomfield’s award-winning book, “Palestine,” learning the enemy is an integral part of planning the struggle.
Agree with Haider Abbas
Peace is only possible in Middle East most especially importantly in Palestine if Israel stops its negative designs against Palestine and innocent and sinless Palestinians and Israel is fulfilling all its negative designs on behalf of USA because USA currently has fixed millions of $$$$$$ in its defence budget for Israel.Therefore the main character is only USA which can control Israel from severe military operations against Palestinians so first refrain USA from funding Israel for military operations against Palestinians then Israel only thus peace process in Middle East especially in Palestine can be practically implemented.Other wise every effort by any one individually or collectively to maintain and implement peace process practically in Middle East most especially importantly in Palestine is useless and in vain......
For the supermacy of Islam and Muslims it is necessary to show soliditory with the muslims who are under supression in any nook and corner of the world..