By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan unleashed a blistering attack on Israel at the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, condemning a recent airstrike in Qatar as an “illegal, unprovoked” assault that threatened regional stability and sabotaged Gaza peace talks.
The heated exchange came during an emergency session on the “Situation in the Middle East,” called by Algeria, Pakistan and Somalia with support from France and the United Kingdom. Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s permanent representative, led the charge, labeling the strike on Hamas leaders in a Doha residential neighborhood a “brazen and illegal assault” that violated Qatar’s sovereignty and international humanitarian law.
“This brazen and illegal assault is not an isolated incident, rather it is part of a broader and consistent pattern of aggression and violation of international law by Israel that undermines regional peace and stability,” Ahmad said.
The attack, he argued, deliberately endangered civilians and struck at a pivotal moment for diplomacy. “At a time when delicate negotiations on the Gaza peace deal were progressing towards a possible breakthrough, striking the territory of a principal mediator and those directly involved in negotiations is a deliberate attempt to sabotage diplomacy, derail peace efforts, and prolong the suffering of civilians,” he added.
Ahmad tied the incident to Israel’s history of cross-border operations in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, Iran and Yemen, calling it “yet another manifestation of [Israel’s] systematic disregard for international law, and its brazen policy of destabilising the region.” He cited a violation of Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter, which bars the use of force against a state’s territorial integrity.
Pakistan’s envoy reaffirmed solidarity with Qatar, pointing to last week’s visit by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to Doha. “The visit underscores Pakistan’s unwavering support for the security and sovereignty of Qatar and its commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East,” Ahmad said.
The Council’s unanimous statement, adopted earlier on Thursday, expressed “deep regret at the loss of civilian life,” urged de-escalation and backed Qatar’s sovereignty. It praised the nation’s mediation role alongside Egypt and the United States, while calling for hostage releases and an end to the Gaza conflict — without naming Israel.
Israel’s ambassador, Gilad Erdan, in his speech likened the Doha strike to the 2011 U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. “When bin Laden was eliminated in Pakistan, the question asked was not why target a terrorist on foreign soil. The question was why was a terrorist given shelter at all. The same question must be asked today. There’s no immunity for bin Laden and there can be no immunity for Hamas,” Erdan said.
Pakistan swiftly invoked its right of reply. Ahmad called the comparison “unacceptable, indeed ludicrous” and a deflection from Israel’s “illegal actions and violations of international law.”
“It [Israel] is an occupier, a serial violator of the UN Charter and international law, that threatens the international community, humanitarian organisations, and even the United Nations itself — and does so with impunity,” he said. “Despite being the aggressor, it pretends to be the victim. But today, it stands fully exposed.”
Ahmad defended Pakistan’s counterterrorism record: “The international community is well aware of Pakistan’s sacrifices in the fight against terrorism. Al Qaeda was largely decimated due to Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts, and we remain committed to this collective endeavor.”
Ahmad rejected what he called a “false analogy” by the Israeli envoy and stated that Israel is being “the perpetrator of the worst kind of state terrorism that we are witnessing in Gaza and in fact in the occupied Palestinian territories for decades.”
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