ISLAMABAD: Pakistani officials and political parties have expressed their shock at US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize the city of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Trump was expected to make the formal announcement on Wednesday, setting in motion the process of shifting the US Embassy from Tel Aviv and essentially killing off any future prospect of a two-state solution.
A statement issued by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s office on Wednesday evening said: “The people and the government of Pakistan have noted with grave concern the reported move by the US to shift its embassy to the occupied city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, thereby altering the legal and historical status of the city.”
It added: “Such a step would constitute a clear violation of international law and UN Security Council resolutions. It would also sidestep decades of global consensus on this issue, undermine regional peace and security, as well as derail any prospects for a lasting peace in the Middle East.”
Key lawmaker and leader of the House in Senate Raja Zafarul Haq said Muslim nations should convene a summit to discuss Trump’s decision.
Talking to Arab News, Sen. Haq said: “It will create a dangerous environment not only for the Middle East but for the world at large.”
The senator fears “the development will also hamper the efforts for peace in the region.”
He added that Trump’s decision will have a “negative impact on global peace and the US should rather play a positive role.”
“It’s condemnable,” opposition leader Ali Awan, of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), told Arab News. “Trump hurt the sentiments of all Muslims across the world.”
Jamaat-e-Islami Deputy Chief Fareed Paracha has called on the government of Pakistan to prepare for a shift in relations with the US.
Paracha, a member of Pakistan’s largest religious party, told Arab News “the country will have to change its stance with the United States” if Trump’s decision is not reversed.
Political pundits and foreign relations experts believe religious political parties will incite anti-American sentiments and protests across the country.
“The majority of religious parties… may make this issue serious by coming on the streets and roads and public opinion may get worse against the US, which may damage the US goals in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which would lead to a decline in cooperation with US authorities,” said analyst Qamar Cheema.
“This is a sensitive issue in Pakistan because Muslims believe they have been squeezed and pushed by the US and Israel and the international community looks at issues of the Muslim world from a jaundiced perspective.”
Trump was expected to make the formal announcement on Wednesday, setting in motion the process of shifting the US Embassy from Tel Aviv and essentially killing off any future prospect of a two-state solution.
A statement issued by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s office on Wednesday evening said: “The people and the government of Pakistan have noted with grave concern the reported move by the US to shift its embassy to the occupied city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, thereby altering the legal and historical status of the city.”
It added: “Such a step would constitute a clear violation of international law and UN Security Council resolutions. It would also sidestep decades of global consensus on this issue, undermine regional peace and security, as well as derail any prospects for a lasting peace in the Middle East.”
Key lawmaker and leader of the House in Senate Raja Zafarul Haq said Muslim nations should convene a summit to discuss Trump’s decision.
Talking to Arab News, Sen. Haq said: “It will create a dangerous environment not only for the Middle East but for the world at large.”
The senator fears “the development will also hamper the efforts for peace in the region.”
He added that Trump’s decision will have a “negative impact on global peace and the US should rather play a positive role.”
“It’s condemnable,” opposition leader Ali Awan, of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), told Arab News. “Trump hurt the sentiments of all Muslims across the world.”
Jamaat-e-Islami Deputy Chief Fareed Paracha has called on the government of Pakistan to prepare for a shift in relations with the US.
Paracha, a member of Pakistan’s largest religious party, told Arab News “the country will have to change its stance with the United States” if Trump’s decision is not reversed.
Political pundits and foreign relations experts believe religious political parties will incite anti-American sentiments and protests across the country.
“The majority of religious parties… may make this issue serious by coming on the streets and roads and public opinion may get worse against the US, which may damage the US goals in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which would lead to a decline in cooperation with US authorities,” said analyst Qamar Cheema.
“This is a sensitive issue in Pakistan because Muslims believe they have been squeezed and pushed by the US and Israel and the international community looks at issues of the Muslim world from a jaundiced perspective.”
