Thousands march in Karachi for Gaza solidarity

Thousands marched in solidarity with Gaza in Pakistan ahead of the one year anniversary of the attacks which sparked the conflict.

Pakistan’s major Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami held the mass rally in the southern city of Karachi.

Men, women and children held Palestinian, Pakistani and party flags as well as placards, as they chanted “death to Israel.”

The leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, who addressed the rally, demanded an end to bloodshed in Gaza and the wider Middle East.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took the decision to observe the day during a meeting with Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and the Jamaat-e-Islami chief Naeem-ur-Rehman in Islamabad. 

The nationwide day of solidarity is being observed to express solidarity with the innocent Palestinians facing the worst Israeli brutalities, the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will also host an All Parties Conference to raise a voice against the ongoing oppression of unarmed Palestinians in Gaza and to support the Palestinian brothers and sisters,” the report read.

Pakistan has condemned Israel’s war on Gaza on various international forums, calling for an immediate ceasefire and accountability for Israel’s “war crimes.”

Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issue at the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other multilateral platforms and demanded international powers and bodies stop Israeli military actions in Gaza.

The South Asian country has also dispatched several aid consignments for the Palestinians.