Ahsan Iqbal defends Pakistan’s role in Gaza peace efforts, reaffirms support for Palestinian state

ISLAMABAD, Jan 23 Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal on Friday strongly defended Pakistan’s participation in an international peace initiative related to Gaza, telling the National Assembly that Islamabad had joined the forum without any change in its principled stance on Palestine and Israel, which he described as an aggressor state.

 

Responding to JUI-F chief Maulana Fazl ur Rehman and other members, Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan’s position on the Palestinian issue remained “absolutely clear and unchanged”, adding that the country continued to support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders.

 

“Our stance is the same as the stance of the Pakistani nation: Israel is an aggressor, a brutal and oppressive state, and the hands of Netanyahu are stained with the blood of the Palestinian people,” he said, while stressing that Pakistan had joined the peace initiative alongside key Islamic countries to play a constructive role in ending bloodshed in Gaza.

 

The minister said it was easy to make emotional speeches from comfortable settings, but real diplomacy required engaging with the international community to secure practical relief for affected civilians.

 

He argued that the involvement of several major Islamic countries in the initiative had contributed to a ceasefire, which had given Palestinians an opportunity to begin rebuilding their lives.

 

“If Pakistan had stayed away from this forum, the same members would have stood here and complained that Pakistan had been isolated and excluded from an important international effort,” he said, adding that Pakistan’s inclusion reflected a diplomatic success rather than a compromise.

 

Referring to criticism from the opposition benches, Ahsan Iqbal asked whether countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan and others — all part of the broader diplomatic effort — had joined it to support aggression. “These countries have come together to play a role for peace and for the rights of the Palestinian people,” he said.

 

Earlier in his speech, the minister recalled Pakistan’s 1998 nuclear tests, saying the then government had taken the decision despite immense international pressure.

 

He said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had always stood for the country’s sovereignty and defence.

 

“We made Pakistan a nuclear power when the entire world was pressuring us not to do so. No one can question our commitment to Pakistan’s security and independence,” he said, while also asserting that his party did not need lessons from anyone on patriotism.

 

Ahsan Iqbal also responded to criticism from religious parties, saying the PML-N and its parent party, the All-India Muslim League, were founded under the leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and that the party’s political identity was rooted in Islam.

 

“Our slogan was and remains: ‘Pakistan ka matlab kya, La ilaha illallah’,” he said, adding that the party would never take any step that went against Islamic teachings.

 

The speech was frequently interrupted by opposition members, prompting the minister to complain about a lack of parliamentary decorum and patience in the House.