Pakistan bans New Year celebrations in solidarity with ‘oppressed’ Palestinians

Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister, Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, on Thursday announced a nationwide ban on New Year celebrations in solidarity with Palestinians as Israel continues its military campaign to crush Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“The whole Pakistani nation and the Muslim world are in a state of deep grief over the genocide of unarmed Palestinians, especially the massacre of children, in Gaza and the West Bank,” Kakar said in his nationally televised announcement.

“Given the extremely worrying situation in Palestine and to express solidarity with our Palestinian brothers and sisters, there will be a complete countrywide ban on organizing any kind of events in connection with the New Year celebration,” the prime minister said.

Muslim countries worldwide, including Pakistan, have sharply criticized Israel’s relentless military campaign and intensified calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities to help address the ensuing humanitarian crisis.

The entire 2.3 million population in the Gaza Strip has suffered severe shortages of water, food, fuel and medicine, with only limited aid entering the territory. Kakar said that Islamabad had already sent two consignments of relief aid to Gaza and a third would soon be dispatched.

Israeli military airstrikes and ground operations have left vast parts of Gaza in ruins and killed more than 21,000 Palestinians since October 7, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

The offensive was unleashed after Hamas militants poured over the border with Israel and attacked southern Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people, according to Israel. Hamas also seized around 240 hostages, of whom 129 remain captive in Gaza. The Israeli military says 167 of its troops have been killed.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep up the military campaign until the elimination of Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the United States and other countries, is achieved.

Pakistan does not have diplomatic ties with Israel and refuses to recognize it as a sovereign country until “a viable and independent Palestinian state” is established — a long-running policy of many Muslim-majority countries. Pakistanis cannot visit the Jewish state because their passport states it is “valid for all countries of the world except Israel.”