Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, the acting prime minister of Pakistan, declared on Thursday that New Year's celebrations would not be allowed anywhere in the country in support of the Palestinian people, as Israel continues its military operation to destroy Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In his nationally aired statement, Kakar added, "The whole Pakistani nation and the Muslim world are in a state of deep grief over the genocide of unarmed Palestinians, especially the massacre of children, in Gaza and the West Bank."
Pakistan and other Muslim nations have harshly denounced Israel's ceaseless military assault and stepped up their demands for an instantaneous end to hostilities in order to aid with the humanitarian catastrophe that has resulted. There are acute shortages of food, gasoline, water, and medicine for the full 2.3 million people living in the Gaza Strip, and very little humanitarian help is getting into the region.
According to Kakar, Islamabad has already shipped two shipments of humanitarian supplies to Gaza and is scheduled to send a third soon. Since October 7, Israeli military airstrikes and ground operations have killed over 21,000 Palestinians and destroyed large portions of Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which is operated by Hamas.
Following a wave of Hamas terrorists crossing the Israeli border and attacking villages in southern Israel, the offensive was launched, with Israel reporting that over 1,200 people were killed. Approximately 240 hostages were taken by Hamas; 129 of them are still held captive in Gaza. According to the Israeli military, 167 of its soldiers have died.
Pakistan maintains diplomatic relations with Israel but does not acknowledge it as a sovereign nation until "a viable and independent Palestinian state" is established. This is a long-standing stance shared by many nations with a majority of Muslims. Because their passport specifies that it is "valid for all countries of the world except Israel," Pakistanis are unable to travel to the Jewish state.
