Pakistan on Monday unequivocally condemned the recent act of storming of the Al Aqsa Mosque by Israeli ministers, accompanied by settler groups and shielded by Israeli police.

“This sacrilege against one of Islam’s holiest sites is not only an affront to the faith of over a billion Muslims but also a direct assault on international law and the collective conscience of humanity,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on his X timeline.

He said that such systematic provocations by the occupying power, coupled with reckless calls for annexation, imperilled the prospects for peace.

The prime minister said that Israel’s shameless actions were deliberately inflaming tensions in Palestine and the wider region, pushing the Middle East closer to further instability and conflict.

“Pakistan reiterates its urgent call for an immediate ceasefire, an end to all acts of aggression, and the revival of a credible peace process leading to an independent and viable State of Palestine, with Al Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, in accordance with international law and relevant UN resolutions,” Prime Minister Shehbaz added.