Pakistan tells UN Palestine remains ‘core fault line’ of Middle East instability

• Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad tells UNSC ‘unresolved Palestinian issue’ and occupation fuel regional unrest

• Reaffirms Pakistan backs two-state solution as only path to lasting peace, urging full implementation of Gaza Peace Plan under Security Council Resolution 2803

• Warns more than 800 Palestinians killed since ceasefire, calling for urgent humanitarian access, restraint and diplomacy across the region

 UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has told the United Nations Security Council that the root cause of instability in the Middle East remains the “unresolved question of Palestine” and the “continued Israeli occupation of Arab lands,” reaffirming its commitment to upholding international law and supporting peaceful resolution of disputes through diplomacy.

Speaking during a UN Security Council debate on the situation in the Middle East, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, said a just and lasting peace in the region could only be achieved through ending occupation and realising an independent Palestinian state under the two-state solution framework.

“Not expansionist ambitions, nor illegal wars — it is the end of occupation and the realization of a Palestinian state through the two-state solution that remains the only viable framework for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace,” Ambassador Asim said.

Opening the debate, Khaled Khiari warned of worsening conditions in Gaza Strip and the West Bank, saying recent regional tensions had shifted global attention away from the deteriorating humanitarian and security situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.

“The tensions and hostilities that have upended the Middle East over the past weeks have shifted attention from the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” Khiari said. “Away from the spotlight, the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is steadily worsening.”

He noted that civilians in Gaza continue to endure deadly Israeli strikes alongside severe humanitarian challenges.

In his remarks, Ambassador Asim said more than 800 Palestinians had been killed in Israeli strikes since the announcement of the ceasefire, highlighting the scale of the crisis and the fragility of the truce. He stressed the urgent need to preserve and consolidate the ceasefire and ensure sustained, unhindered and scaled-up humanitarian assistance.

The Pakistani envoy said the current deadlock, particularly over Phase II of the Gaza Peace Plan aimed at rebuilding the war-ravaged enclave, must be resolved without delay.

“Any delay risks eroding the hard-won momentum and deepening human suffering,” he warned.