Pakistan has urged the international community to \u201cact with urgency\u201d to stop Israel\u2019s \u201creckless\u201d campaign in Lebanon and advance a diplomatic solution to the escalating conflict when the UN Security Council met in emergency following Israeli forces\u2019 deepest incursion into the Arab country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSustainable peace can only be achieved through dialogue and diplomacy,\u201d Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the 15-member Security Council on Monday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe also welcome the efforts of the United States in facilitating the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, and we support their continuing engagement in this process,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Council meeting was convened by France after Israel pushed farther into Lebanon, including Beaufort Castle, while Hezbullah expanded rocket, drone and missile attacks into Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the ceasefire arrangement and direct talks between Israel and Lebanon, the Pakistani envoy said, the security and humanitarian situation in Lebanon continues to deteriorate drastically, with an expansion of Israeli military operations and ground incursions into Lebanese territory, pointing out that 2,000 square kilometers, nearly 20% of Lebanon, now lies under illegal Israeli occupation, inflicting immense suffering on civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt seems it is the same strategy, the same playbook that we have seen elsewhere: indiscriminate killing, forced displacement, and occupation,\u201d Ambassador Asim Ahmad told delegates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since March this year, more than 3,400 people, including women and children, have been killed and over 10,000 injured, with More than one million displaced. Equally alarming, the Pakistani envoy added were the Israeli attacks on humanitarian and medical personnel, killing 125 health workers and injuring over 300 since March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pakistan, he said, appreciates Lebanon\u2019s efforts to restore stability, strengthen state authority, and ensure that the use of force remains the exclusive prerogative of the Lebanese state through its legitimate institutions, with the Lebanese Armed Forces playing a central role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this regard, he said Pakistan calls for full respect for Lebanon\u2019s sovereignty and territorial integrity; Immediate cessation of hostilities and strict adherence to the ceasefire by all sides; implementation of Resolution 1701, with complete Israeli withdrawal to the Blue Line, which separates Lebanon with Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPakistan stands in solidarity with the people and Government of Lebanon and will continue to support all efforts aimed at promoting peace, stability, and hope in the region,\u201d Ambassador Asim Ahmad said in conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Opening the debate, Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, the Assistant Secretary-General, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, reported that the situation in Lebanon is deeply alarming,\u201d citing \u201cIsraeli ground troops pushing further north into Lebanese territory\u201d and \u201cintensified Hezbullah attacks reaching deeper into Israel\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said recent Israeli incursions included the capture of Beaufort Castle, advances north of the Litani River in the \u201cYohmor triangle\u201d, intensified air strikes across southern Lebanon, the Beqaa Valley and the outskirts of Beirut, and sweeping \u201curgent warnings\u201d for civilians to evacuate areas south of the Zahrani River.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms Pobee also cited extensive military activity reported by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) north of the Blue Line, including 992 Israel Defence Forces projectile trajectories recorded on 30 May \u2014 the highest number since the 17 April cessation of hostilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hizbullah has continued to launch dozens of rockets, anti-tank guided missiles, and drones \u2013 including increasingly deadly fiber-optic drones, Ms Pobee said. It has also used surface-to-air missiles and improvised explosive devices against Israeli troops and assets inside Lebanese territory, while escalating strikes deeper into Israel in recent days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese developments mark a dangerous and alarming escalation,\u201d she said, as they directly undermine the cessation of hostilities understanding announced by the United States on 16 April and eroding fragile diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jerome Bonnafont, the Ambassador of France, who sought Monday\u2019s meeting, said \u201cnothing can justify the continuation and scale of (Israeli) military operations in Lebanon\u201d \u2013 thousands of civilian deaths and injuries, and the forced displacement of populations, or its ever-deeper occupation of Lebanese territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis constitutes a major strategic mistake on Israel\u2019s part,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, the French envoy added, these operations are contrary to the commitments Israel undertook on 17 April, and to the resolutions of this Council. It is urgent that the guns fall silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This headlong rush took a symbolic dimension on Sunday by planting its flag on the Beaufort fortress, which served as a base during its occupation of southern Lebanon until 2000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIsrael is returning to a period that many believed was behind us,\u201d Ambassador Bonnafont warned, stressing: \u201cHistory is instructive. The same causes are highly likely to produce the same effects.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pakistan has urged the international community to \u201cact with urgency\u201d to stop Israel\u2019s \u201creckless\u201d campaign in Lebanon and advance a diplomatic solution to the escalating conflict when the UN Security Council met in emergency following Israeli forces\u2019 deepest incursion into the Arab country. \u201cSustainable peace can only be achieved through dialogue and diplomacy,\u201d Ambassador Asim […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11472,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[80,396],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia","category-latest"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11471"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11471\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.asiafreepress.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}