NEW YORK, DEC 04 (DNA) – Reaffirming its full support to the Palestinians’ struggle for self-determination and against foreign occupation, Pakistan has urged the international community to help them establish an independent State of their own with Al-Quds al-Sharif as its capital.

“The tragedy of Palestine is the collective failure of the international community to uphold the fundamental principled provision of the UN Charter and the binding resolutions of the Security Council,” Pakistani delegate Saad warraich told the UN General Assembly.

Speaking in a debate on the Question on Palestine, he said that Palestine was the core issue in the Middle East conflict that has spawned regional instability and contributed the most to the anger and frustration among the peoples of the Arab and Islamic world.

“A just resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is essential for peace and stability throughout the Middle East region,” the Pakistani delegate said.

Since partition 73 years ago, he said the story of Palestine has been a tale of broken promises and unfulfilled rights that not only betrayed the hopes and aspirations of generations of Palestinians, but have also sowed seeds of endless hostility and discord in the Middle East.

“The question of Palestine is not a question of victor or vanquished; it is test of our commitment to the abiding principles of the UN Charter, based on the inherent dignity of an individual, and respect for fundamental human rights of all human beings including their right to self-determination.”

Warraich, a Counsellor at the Pakistan Mission, said that the fundamental structure of the two-State solution is being dismantled before the international community’s eyes, with many doubting if peace can be achieved at all, as illegal expansion of settlements into the occupied territory continued.

Meanwhile, he said that UNRWA, the world body’s agency entrusted to care for Palestinian refugees , faces financial constraints in serving more than 5 million refugees.

“The international community must assist the Palestinians to realize their rightful quest for the establishment of a sovereign, independent contiguous and viable State with Al-Quds al-Sharif as its capital,” the Pakistani delegate added. = DNA

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