Army reiterates support for Palestinians amid Israel’s brutality

RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Army’s top brass Thursday reiterated its all-out support to Palestinians, who are facing the worst brutality at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces.

The military commanders also expressed unequivocal diplomatic, moral, and political support to the people of Palestine and reiterated the country's principled stance supporting the two-state solution, based on pre-1967 borders with Al Quds Al Sharif as the capital of Palestine, the military's media affairs wing said in a statement.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations statement (ISPR), the resolve was expressed at the 82nd Formation Commanders Conference (FCC) held with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir in the chair at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi on Thursday.

Corps commanders, principal staff officers and all formation commanders of the Pakistan Army were among the attendees of the meeting.

Since the launch of the Hamas-Israel war on October 7, nearly 15,000 Palestinians — including 6,000 children — have lost their lives in Israeli forces’ barbaric attacks. Moreover, authorities in Tel Aviv claimed that 1,200 Israeli people, mainly civilians, had been killed and 240 others became hostages.

Addressing the huddle, the army chief expressed satisfaction over operational preparedness and high standards of training and morale maintained by formations to deal with the emerging threat paradigm.

The forum paid rich tribute to the supreme sacrifices of martyrs including officers and men of the armed forces, law enforcement agencies and Pakistani citizens, read the statement.

The participants were briefed on professional matters, national security challenges and measures being undertaken to counter traditional and non-traditional security threats.

The forum also took a holistic view of the ongoing counter-terrorism operations and resolved that all terrorists, their facilitators and abettors, working on the behest of hostile forces to destabilise Pakistan will be dealt with the full might of the state.

The participants also expressed concerns over the continued repression of Kashmiris in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and condemned the unabated human rights violations by Indian forces. The forum reaffirmed that Pakistan will continue to support Kashmiris politically, diplomatically and morally. Participants stressed that the only solution to the issue lies in providing the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir according to relevant UNSC resolution.

The forum resolved to fully support the government's initiatives in various domains for sustainable recovery of the economy and curbing illegal activities including smuggling, hoarding, electricity theft, implementation of one document regime, dignified repatriation of illegal foreigners and safeguarding of national database etc.

“The forum noted that despite challenges, recent months have witnessed an increasing sense of stability, certainty and optimism across Pakistan and resolved that vested efforts towards engineering despondency will be defeated through perseverance and continued positive actions, with the support of the people of Pakistan, InshaAllah.”

The participants affirmed that the Pakistan Army will continue defending and serving the nation in every possible way; in our journey towards enduring stability and security.

The forum urged the people to stay determined and united.