By Staff Reporter
LAHORE: Five senior leaders of the main opposition party, all imprisoned on charges related to the May 9, 2023, riots, on Monday called for an immediate multi-party conference to forge a national consensus on the Palestinian issue and the shaky prospects for peace in Gaza.
The leaders — former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Dr. Yasmin Rashid, Mahmoodur Rasheed and Ejaz Chaudhry — issued the appeal through their lawyer, Advocate Rana Mudassar Umar, in a statement released from Kot Lakhpat Jail here. The politicians, who belong to Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, have been behind bars for their alleged involvement in the violent unrest that erupted after Khan’s arrest more than two and a half years ago.
In the statement, the group said a multi-party conference should be convened without delay to address the “Palestinian issue,” arguing that “sustainable peace was not possible in the region without a ‘two-state solution and justice.’” They urged all political parties to reaffirm support for the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.
The leaders pointed to what they described as mounting evidence that the fragile cease-fire in Gaza is unravelling. “Since the ceasefire was announced through negotiations, more than 600 deaths have been reported in Gaza as a result of continuous ceasefire violations,” the statement said. They listed a series of Israeli actions that, in their view, are undermining a reported 20-point peace plan: the decision to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, unilateral moves to alter the legal, demographic and historical character of occupied Palestinian territories, refusal to withdraw forces from Gaza, insistence that reconstruction cannot begin until Hamas disarms, and continued obstruction of humanitarian aid deliveries.
The politicians also questioned the composition and legitimacy of the new Board of Peace established by President Donald Trump to help resolve the Gaza conflict. They asked why four permanent members of the United Nations Security Council had declined to participate in the body, and whether it was equitable for Israel to hold a seat while Palestinians were excluded. “Israel’s violations of international law and the UN Charter had further escalated Middle East tensions,” they added.
The board held its inaugural session in Washington on Thursday, where several countries pledged financial and personnel support for reconstruction efforts more than four months into the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
According to the jailed leaders’ statement, however, the meeting produced no timetable for Hamas to surrender its weapons or for Israeli troops to pull out of the coastal enclave. The statement also expressed alarm over rising tensions between the United States and Iran. It warned that Tehran’s failure to reach an agreement with Washington within the next 10 days “could push the region towards war” and noted the potential fallout for Pakistan if instability spreads from Iran.
Citing the absence of any substantive parliamentary discussion on either the Palestinian question or the broader Middle East crisis, the leaders concluded that “an urgent multi-party conference is the need of the hour to build a national consensus for peace and stability in Gaza and the wider region.”
A United Nations’ recent report also highlighted fresh concerns about the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories. The world body said Israel’s increased attacks and forcible transfers of Palestinians “raise concerns over ethnic cleansing” in both Gaza and the West Bank. During the 12-month period examined in the document, at least 463 Palestinians, including 157 children, died of starvation in Gaza, according to the UN.
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