ISLAMABAD: (Bureau Report) The government of Pakistan marked Friday as the “Palestine Day” to show solidarity with the people of Palestine who have been braving a massacre at the hands of Israel for the past 11 days. Israel has been pounding Gaza with air strikes, killing nearly 250 people, including men, women, and children, since tensions heightened following the Sheikh Jarrah evictions and Israeli police brutality at the Al-Aqsa mosque. Pakistan has raised its voice against Israeli aggression at the United Nations, with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi saying that the voice of the Palestinians cannot and will not be silenced. Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan had directed officials to make preparations for holding state-level protests against the Israeli atrocities on Friday. The PM had issued the orders during a meeting he chaired of government spokespersons. The aides of the PM had advised him to hold such a demonstration on Friday. Speaking on the occasion, National Security Advisor Moeed Yousuf said that Pakistan stands with the people of Palestine, adding that there could be no lasting peace without an independent Palestinian state.
