At the United Nations, Deputy PM/FM Ishaq Dar Calls for “Justice, Freedom, Dignity and a State” for Palestinians
By Elaine Pasquini
Washington, DC: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar arrived in New York City on July 21, 2025. During his eight-day visit he held high-level events under Pakistan’s presidency of the UN Security Council, along with bi-lateral and multilateral meetings in New York and Washington, DC.
In addition, the minister represented Pakistan at the International Conference to discuss Palestinian statehood and a two-state solution co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and France. Originally scheduled for June, the conference was rescheduled following Israel’s deadly military attacks on Iran.
Following a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antónió Guterres and the president of the UN General Assembly Philémon Yang, Minister Dar presided over the United Nations Security Council's open debate on Israel’s military attacks on Gaza and the Palestinian territories.
In his speech, Dar stated: “For decades, the Palestinian people have endured the worst form of occupation and apartheid. They have been denied their fundamental and inalienable rights, including the right to self-determination and statehood. What we have witnessed in Gaza for the last 22 months is not just a humanitarian catastrophe, but a collapse of humanity itself.”
He also pointed out that Israel is violating the International Humanitarian Law (IHL), noting that over 58,000 Palestinians – most of them women and children – have been killed in Israel’s brutal military assault. “The systematic targeting of hospitals, schools, UN facilities, aid convoys and refugee camps are not incidental; these are deliberate acts of collective punishment in flagrant violation of IHL, numerous Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, as well as the binding provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice.”
With the hunger crisis in Gaza reaching “unprecedented and deeply alarming levels,” the minister stressed that, according to the United Nations World Food Program, one-third of the population has not eaten for multiple days in a row, “an indicator of catastrophic levels of food insecurity.”
The Palestinian issue is a “litmus test for the credibility of the United Nations, the Security Council and the integrity of international law,” he said. “Failure to uphold the rights of the Palestinian people will embolden impunity and undermine the legitimacy of the very international order we all claim to defend and uphold. The Security Council must live up to its responsibility and ensure compliance with its own decisions.”
The minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering and principled support and solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to a “viable, sovereign and contiguous State of Palestine based on the pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. This is the only just and durable solution, enshrined in Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative and the consensus position of the OIC” [Organization of Islamic Cooperation], he said.
He urged the Security Council to pursue “with unity and urgency an immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza and across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 2735.”
“We appreciate the ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza and hope they would yield tangible and meaningful outcomes, including a permanent end to the war,” he continued. “We appreciate the role played by Egypt, Qatar and the United States in this regard.”
The minister also called for “unfettered, sustained and secure humanitarian access to all civilians in need, and the protection of aid workers, medical teams and UN personnel.” Immediate steps, he said, should be taken to ensure the “delivery of life-saving food and medical assistance, restore humanitarian supply lines, and prevent famine conditions from taking hold.”
In addition, Dar said, there should be “renewed and reinforced international support to UNRWA, which remains indispensable to the survival of millions of Palestinians.”
There should be an end to forced displacement, illegal settlement expansion and annexation of Palestinian land, he said, particularly in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
“Pakistan welcomes the growing international momentum in support of the Palestinian statehood and full membership in the UN,” he related. “We urge those states that have yet to recognize the State of Palestine to do so as soon as they can.”
The way forward, he said, “lies in upholding international law, ending foreign occupation, rejecting the use of force and promoting solutions through dialogue and diplomacy. It is time to give the Palestinian people what they have been denied for too long: justice, freedom, dignity, and a state of their own. That is the path to durable peace and stability in the Middle East.”
The minister’s busy schedule also included discussions with the Special Envoy for Global Affairs of Austria, Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, on the sidelines of the high-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. The two diplomats expressed satisfaction on the positive trajectory of Pakistan-Austria relations, and also explored avenues to further enhance bilateral cooperation, particularly in education, tourism and business.
In a ceremony at the United Nations headquarters, Dar signed the agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement). Pakistan played a leading role during the BBNJ negotiations, serving as Chair of the Group of 77 and China during the two main sessions in 2022.
Representing the collective voice of developing countries, Pakistan consistently advocates for fair benefit-sharing, capacity-building and technology transfer in line with the principle of the common heritage of humankind, Dar stated.
(Elaine Pasquini is a freelance journalist. Her reports appear in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs and Nuze.Ink.)
