PICTURE: PAK UN MISSION
Mumtaz Hussain
UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has condemned the occupation of Syrian Golan Heights after the escape of President Bashar Al-Assad and the taking over of the country by rebels.
Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations Ambassador Munir Akram told the Security Council that the occupation of Golan Heights was illegal and null and void and that the Security Council must demand the occupying country’s full withdrawal.
“We strongly condemn Israel’s further incursion into the separation areas established under the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and its attacks on the UNDOF,” he said during a debate on the situation in Sirya on Wednesday.
The Pakistani ambassador also said that the promises and assurances coming out from Sirya’s interim government should be welcomed by the international community, but these must be translated into policies and implemented in practice.
He said that the latest developments in Sirya offered an opportunity for restoration of normalcy, stability and peace in Syria, adding, “Yet this will depend on ensuring a peaceful transition to a new governance structure which is inclusive and stable and ensures Syria’s unity and territorial integrity.”
He warned that the international community and the UNSC should take steps to ensure that terrorism did not get roots within the country especially in its unsettled parts of the country.
“Any resurgence of Al-Qaeda or ISIS related groups cannot be accepted,” Ambassador Munir Akram said, urging the world that the Monitoring Team of UNSC’s 1267 Sanctions Committee should continue to follow and report on the situation.
Earlier, Syria’s ambassador Koussay Aldahhak told the 15-member Council that the “dawn of freedom has broken”, and called on members of the UN to “respect the will of the Syrian people and its national choices.”
As the country is committed to improving conditions following 14 years of brutal conflict, the Syrian ambassador called on the U.S. and other States to lift restrictive measures which targeted the previous regime.
“We stress the need to ensure that Israeli occupation entities do not take advantage of the current circumstances to violate Syria’s sovereignty in an attempt to impose a new reality through their military incursion to new parts of Syria,” the envoy added.
More than 70% of the population is in need of humanitarian support, it was pointed out. Over thirteen million Syrians have been displaced – 7 million internally and 6 million abroad. The recent escalation has further added to these needs with more than one million people displaced in a few weeks.
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher highlighted three critical humanitarian challenges: preserving and rebuilding the country’s services, prioritising protection of civilians and ensuring women and girls are not marginalized. He said aid efforts have been able to resume at a greater scale – as the situation has stabilized.
