{"id":6116,"date":"2025-07-10T09:27:57","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T09:27:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wnp.com.pk\/?p=6116"},"modified":"2025-07-10T09:27:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T09:27:57","slug":"sardar-yousaf-reaffirms-pakistans-unwavering-support-for-palestine-declares-israel-an-illegitimate-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/2025\/07\/10\/sardar-yousaf-reaffirms-pakistans-unwavering-support-for-palestine-declares-israel-an-illegitimate-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Sardar Yousaf reaffirms Pakistan\u2019s unwavering support for Palestine; declares Israel an illegitimate state"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>ISLAMABAD, Thursday, July 9, 2025 : Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf on Thursday reaffirmed Pakistan\u2019s unwavering support for the Palestinian cause during a meeting with Palestinian Ambassador Dr. Zuhair Mohammad Hamdallah Zaid here.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The minister reiterated Pakistan\u2019s principled stance on Palestine, declaring, <em>\u201cIsrael is an illegitimate state<\/em><em>,<\/em><em> Pakistan has never recognized it and never will.\u201d<\/em> He said Pakistan has consistently condemned Israeli atrocities against the oppressed people of Palestine.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Yousaf reaffirms Pakistan\u2019s unwavering support for Palestine; declares Israel an illegitimate state\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/q070HnDZoS8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Expressing deep sorrow over the ongoing Israeli aggression in Gaza, particularly the bombing of civilians including women and children, the minister said, <em>\u201cOur hearts bleed for the innocent lives lost.\u201d<\/em> He emphasized that Pakistan will continue to raise its voice to awaken the conscience of the international community.<\/p>\n<p>Calling for a united response, Sardar Yousaf said the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) must prioritize the issue of Palestine on its agenda, adding that the liberation of Masjid Al-Aqsa remains a matter of collective concern for the Muslim Ummah. <em>\u201cLike every Pakistani, I too long to offer prayers at Masjid Al-Aqsa. Just as we visit Makkah and Madinah freely, we yearn for unimpeded access to the first Qibla,\u201d<\/em> he said.<\/p>\n<p>Ambassador Zaid, in response, expressed deep appreciation for Pakistan\u2019s steadfast and selfless support for the Palestinian cause. <em>\u201cThe people of Palestine hold Pakistan\u2019s unwavering solidarity in the highest regard,\u201d<\/em> he said.<\/p>\n<p>He added that many graduates from Pakistani universities are now serving in key positions across Palestine, further strengthening the bilateral relationship. The ambassador emphasized that Masjid Al-Aqsa remains under illegal Israeli occupation, but the Palestinian people remain determined to sacrifice their lives, wealth, and families for its freedom.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Ambassador Zaid also announced that Dr. Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Adviser to the Palestinian President, along with the Imam of Masjid Al-Aqsa, will soon undertake an official visit to Pakistan.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The meeting concluded with both sides reaffirming the importance of strong religious, cultural, and political ties, and pledging continued cooperation in support of the Palestinian struggle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ISLAMABAD, Thursday, July 9, 2025 : Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf on Thursday reaffirmed Pakistan\u2019s unwavering support for the Palestinian cause during a meeting with Palestinian Ambassador Dr. Zuhair Mohammad Hamdallah Zaid here. The minister reiterated Pakistan\u2019s principled stance on Palestine, declaring, \u201cIsrael is an illegitimate state, Pakistan has [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,54,59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-diplomacy","category-middle-east","category-religious-diplomacy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6116\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}