Skip to main content

PM Kakar announces ban on New Year celebrations in solidarity with Gaza

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar on Thursday announced a complete ban on New Year celebrations in an expression of solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas in retaliation for its October 7 attack, which left about 1,140 people dead, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

In response, Israel’s relentless aerial bombardment and ground invasion with troops and tanks have killed at least 21,320 people, mostly women and children, and wounded another 55,603 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

In an address to the nation today, PM Kakar said: “Keeping in mind the seriously concerning situation in Palestine and to show solidarity with our Palestinian brothers and sisters, there will be a strict ban by the government on holding any kind of event for New Year.”

He requested the nation to show solidarity with the Palestinians and exhibit sobriety and humility at the New Year.

The prime minister said over 21,000 Palestinians were killed so far by the Israeli forces that “crossed all limits of violence and injustice” with around 9,000 children dead since the Israeli bombardment began on October 7.

“The whole Pakistani nation and the Muslim world are in a sheer state of anguish over the massacre of innocent children and genocide of unarmed Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.”

Kakar said Pakistan had vocalised the plight of the Palestinian people on every global forum available and would continue to do so in the future as well to stop the Israeli bloodshed.

He said Pakistan had dispatched two aid packages to Palestine while a third package was being prepared.

The premier added Pakistan was engaged in talks with Jordan and Egypt to provide timely aid to Palestine and to evacuate the injured present in Gaza.

Sharjah also banned New Year’s Eve fireworks a day ago as an expression of solidarity with Gazans.

The decision was announced in a Facebook post by Sharjah police, warning on Tuesday that legal measures would be taken against those found violating the ban.

The ban is “a sincere expression of solidarity and humanitarian cooperation with our siblings in the Gaza Strip,” Sharjah police had said in the post.

Sharjah is the United Arab Emirate’s third-largest emirate by size and population behind Abu Dhabi and Dubai. There are seven emirates.

Sharjah’s decision on New Year’s Eve fireworks appeared to be limited to that one emirate as public celebrations continued to be advertised in the country’s other emirates.

Earlier today, the military’s top brass also expressed full solidarity with Palestinians and condemned the “serious human rights violations and war crimes” being perpetrated in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli military.

The military moot reiterated the government’s stance of demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a peaceful resolution to the ongoing crisis.



from The Dawn News - Home https://ift.tt/jeAQNLq

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Republican primary race for president in 2024

The Republican primary race for president in 2024 is already shaping up to be a competitive one. There are a number of high-profile candidates who have already announced their intention to run, and more are expected to join the field in the coming months. The frontrunner for the nomination is former President Donald Trump. Trump has been teasing a 2024 run for months, and he has a large and loyal following among Republican voters. However, he is also a polarizing figure, and his candidacy could alienate some moderate Republicans. Another potential contender for the nomination is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis has been praised by many conservatives for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and his opposition to vaccine mandates. He is also seen as a rising star in the Republican Party. Other potential candidates include former Vice President Mike Pence, former Ambassador Nikki Haley, and Senator Tim Scott. Pence is a more traditional Republican who could appeal to moderate vote

Ministers rubbish notion that proposed retirement age extension to favour ‘one particular institution’

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday rubbished the notion that a proposed extension in the retirement age was to favour “one particular institution”, adding that the move would be implemented across the board if approved. The rebuttal comes in the wake of media reports claiming that the government was mulling changes to the Constitution to fix the tenure of the chief justice . Currently, judges of the Supreme Court, including the chief justice, retire after attaining the age of superannuation, i.e. 65 years, as stipulated in Article 179 of the Constitution. While giving his opinion recently on the reports of the constitutional amendment, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had said he “will not vehemently turn down the proposals related to the tenure of the chief justice”. Addressing the issue during a press conference in Islamabad today along since Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and the law minister, Attaullah said the extension in the retirement age was “a proposal to a

In noisy NA session, Bilawal endorses PTI’s call for judicial inquiry into May 9 riots

In his maiden speech during a session of the newly elected National Assembly, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday endorsed the PTI’s call for a judicial inquiry into the May 9 riots. He passed these remarks in reference to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s recent call for the formation of a judicial commission to probe the violent protests that erupted across the country following PTI founder Imran Khan’s arrest on May 9 last year. “I call upon the chief justice Supreme Court of Pakistan (Justice Qaez Faiz Isa) to form [a judicial commission] and see who are the beneficiaries [of May 9],” Gandapur had said in a fiery speech after being elected the chief executive of KP. Speaking on the floor of the lower house of the Parliament today, Bilawal said he endorsed Gandapur’s demand. But at the same time, he stated that the result should be accepted by everyone, including the Imran-led party. “It is not possible that someone attacks our institution and th