NEW YORK: Pakistan on Monday expressed “profound concern” over the developments in Venezuela, warning that escalating tensions in the country posed risks to regional and international peace and security. The US launched a shock military operation in Venezuela on Saturday, with special forces capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a nighttime raid. The statement was made at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) summoned to discuss the recent developments in Venezuela. This is also the first meeting for the year of the UNSC, with Somalia in the chair. Pakistan’s Acting Permanent Representative Ambassador Usman Jadoon said in his address that at a time when the world was already facing multiple crises, instability in the region “does not augur well for regional and international peace and security”. He reminded Council members that the UN Charter bound states to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or politica...
Pakistan and Israel engaged in a heated debate at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday, with Islamabad condemning Tel Aviv’s recent attack in Qatar targeting Hamas leaders as “illegal, unprovoked, and a threat to regional stability”. The sharp exchange took place at an emergency UNSC meeting convened under the agenda item ‘Situation in the Middle East’. The session had been requested by Algeria, Pakistan, and Somalia and was supported by France and the United Kingdom. Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, opened his address at the UNSC with a strong condemnation of Israel’s strike, calling it a “brazen and illegal assault” and a violation of Qatar’s sovereignty. “The brazen and illegal assault is not an isolated incident, rather it is part of a broader and consistent pattern of aggression and violation of international law by Israel that undermines regional peace and stability.” Ahmad further highlighted that the “Israeli strikes targeted a residentia...
Pakistan on Wednesday requested an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) following Israeli strikes in Qatari capital Doha, which targeted Hamas leadership. With Tuesday’s strikes, Israel is expanding military actions that have ranged across the Middle East to include the Gulf Arab state, where the Palestinian group has long had its political base. Qatar, which has acted as a mediator alongside Egypt in talks on a ceasefire in the almost two-year-old conflict in Gaza, condemned the attack as “cowardly” and called it a flagrant violation of international law. In a post on X, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar wrote that Pakistan requested the meeting along with Somalia and Algeria, after “unprovoked illegal Israeli aggression” in Qatar to “discuss the situation and seize itself of this grave matter”. “Pakistan expresses its complete solidarity and firm support with the government and brotherly people of Qatar,” Dar wrote. ‘Our enemies are not safe anywhere’: Israel Meanwhile, Israel warned its...
United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday that Israel’s Gaza control plan was a “dangerous escalation” that risked worsening conditions for ordinary Palestinians, his spokesperson said. “The Secretary-General is gravely alarmed by the decision of the Israeli Government to ‘take control of Gaza City’. This decision marks a dangerous escalation and risks deepening the […]