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Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani addressing the Senate on a calling attention notice. — Screengrab/PTV News via Geo NewsThe government has informed the Senate that it has communicated to Jordan and Egypt that it is ready to airlift injured Palestinians from Gaza and bring them to Pakistan for treatment.
The revelation was made by Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani while responding to a calling attention notice in the upper House of Parliament. The notice had asked the foreign minister to brief the lawmakers on Pakistani efforts related to Gaza to end the atrocities against the besieged Palestinian people.
The comments from the minister came as the Israel-Hamas truce came into effect today after over a month of bombing in Gaza that killed over 14,000 Palestinians including children and women.
The first pause in the 48-day-old war began at 10am PST, involving a comprehensive ceasefire in north and south Gaza, the release of 13 Israeli women and child hostages by the Hamas later in the day and aid to flow into the devastated Palestinian enclave.
Israel had launched its devastating invasion of Gaza after gunmen from Hamas burst across the border fence on October 7, killing 1,200 people and seizing about 240 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Hundreds of thousands of Gaza's 2.3 million people have fled their homes to escape the violence, but conditions are becoming more desperate.
In his statement on the floor of the house today, Jilani said: “We are already in contact with Jordan and Egypt. We have offered them that Pakistan will be happy to treat these injured Palestinians.” However, he pointed out that they were encountering some problems and working to resolve them as soon as possible.
“We are also in contact with countries that are in touch with Israel because Israel’s permission is also needed,” said FM Jilani. He added that the Egyptians had communicated to Islamabad that Israel also scrutinises the injured to make sure that a Hamas member is not being taken away.
“We have also offered that Pakistan [wishes to] establish a hospital there,” said Jilani. But he again explained that the situation in Gaza was such that there was no possibility for any country to establish a health facility in the besieged strip.
“Indonesia had also established a hospital that has now been destroyed. This is the situation but we will keep on working,” the minister told the senate.
On the diplomatic efforts of Islamabad, FM Jilani said that Pakistan was among a few countries that have played an active role in putting pressure on Israel. He shared that a recent moot of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) in Jeddah was one such example and Pakistan was among eight countries that helped produce the consensus document.
The other diplomatic effort that the top diplomat highlighted was the passage of the United Nations resolution floated by Jordan.
“I got calls from 10-15 foreign ministers who appreciated Pakistan for the role played in developing consensus,” said Jilani.
The minister was also of the view that the support which Palestinians got in Europe and the US showed that Israel and Western countries' narrative had failed.
“I believe the Palestine issue has come on the centre stage because of what happened in the last month,” said the minister.
