Pakistan on Thursday told the United Nations Security Council that there could be no durable peace without justice, no stability without accountability, and no sustainable solution without the realisation of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.

The deputy prime minister, in his remarks at the United Nations Security Council’s briefing on “the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question” held at the United Nations, emphasised Pakistan’s unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people in their legitimate pursuit of dignity, freedom, and self-determination.

He highlighted ongoing diplomatic efforts to consolidate the ceasefire in Gaza, alleviate civilian suffering, and implement the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, as endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2803.

Dar appreciated peace initiatives led by US President Donald Trump and noted Pakistan’s active collaboration within the Group of eight Arab and Islamic countries — Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Türkiye — to advance a just resolution.

He strongly condemned Israel’s recent illegal measures to expand control over the West Bank, including annexation attempts, settlement entrenchment, and designation of lands as “state land.”

These actions, he said, violate international law, the Fourth Geneva Convention, Security Council Resolution 2334, and the 2024 International Court of Justice advisory opinion.

The deputy prime minister also expressed grave concern over repeated Israeli ceasefire violations in Gaza and condemned attacks on UN premises, including UNRWA facilities, restrictions on humanitarian aid, and impediments to assistance, describing the situation as unacceptable and fragile.

He said that a credible, irreversible, and time-bound political process was essential for Palestinian statehood on pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, in line with international legitimacy and UN resolutions.

“Palestinian-led governance and institutional strengthening, with a central role of the Palestinian Authority, are indispensable in this regard,” he added.

Dar said that Pakistan had joined the Board of Peace to support a permanent ceasefire, scaled-up aid, Gaza reconstruction, and the realisation of Palestinian self-determination through coordinated diplomacy.

Dar, who is part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s delegation in Washington for the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace, said that Pakistan would attend the session to reinforce these efforts and affirmed that sustained diplomacy, rooted in international law and the UN Charter, with accountability, offered the only path to just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

“Pakistan is ready and willing to contribute to all diplomatic initiatives, including President Trump’s Peace Plan, the BoP, the High-Level Conference on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Global Alliance for the Two-State Solution, which must reinforce one another through coordinated and concrete implementation, in the interest of our shared objective of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East,” the deputy prime minister reaffirmed.