Pakistanis outraged US recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel

F.P. Report

LAHORE: Chief Minister (CM) Punjab, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has strongly condemning US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, has said that the religious sentiments of 1.5 billion Muslims have been deeply hurt by the US’ decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city of Jerusalem.

In a statement here on Thursday, Shehbaz Sharif said that instead of ‘advancing the peace process,” the US move has dealt the severest blow to the efforts at peace, stating that the Palestinians have been deceived once again. He said that the decision of the Trump Administration has reinforced the Palestinians’ lack of trust in the honesty of Washington as a trusted and fair-minded peace broker.

The Chief Minister said that when one of the parties to decades-old conflict demonstrates a massive no-confidence and feels to have been stabbed in the back, there is no way a peace process can bear fruit. He said that with this reckless and irresponsible US policy reversal, the goal of finding a two-state solution has become even more distant. He said that the world has rightly been outraged by the action of the Trump Administration, whose understanding of history is fickle and self-serving.

Shehbaz Sharif endorsed President Erdogan’s comment wherein the Turkish leader had said that by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the US has crossed the ‘red-line’ for Muslims. He warned that the step has opened old wounds and exposed Middle East to a new era of fresh uncertainty and chaos.

He said that the world can ill-afford such narrow-minded policies that seem to insult the intelligence of the people. The Chief Minister said that the Palestinians’ right to have an independent homeland of their own is sanctioned by the United Nations resolutions and the world conscience.

Instead of taking steps to reignite peace process, the United States under President Trump has complicated the regional situation that has graver implications for the world peace in general and the stability and peace of Middle East in particular.

Shehbaz Sharif reiterated the resolve that the government and the people of Pakistan will continue to extend every possible support to the Palestinian cause at every level. He underlined the need for a collective response at the level of OIC to the latest policy announcement of the Trump Administration.