Pakistan strongly condemns desecration of Al‑Aqsa Mosque by Israeli ministers, settlers

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan on Monday condemned in the strongest possible terms the provocative and deeply offensive desecration of Al‑Aqsa Mosque by thousands of Israeli settlers, including senior Israeli ministers, officials, and members of the Knesset, shielded by brutal Israeli occupying forces.

The presence and statements of senior Israeli officials, and the repugnant declaration that “the Temple Mount is ours,” are a dangerous and deliberate attempt to provoke religious sentiments across the world, escalate tensions, and alter the status of Al‑Aqsa Mosque, Foreign Office said in a statement.

“Israel’s expansionist attempts are a deliberate effort to destabilise the region and sabotage any meaningful path to peace. These provocations risk igniting a catastrophic spiral of violence across the region. The world must not remain silent in the face of such systemic, illegal, inhumane, and unlawful aggression. Such actions constitute a blatant violation of international human rights and humanitarian laws, the UN Charter, as well as various UN and OIC Resolutions,” read the statement.

“We urge the international community, particularly the United Nations, to take immediate and concrete steps to hold Israel accountable for its illegal actions and to protect the religious sanctity of Al‑Aqsa Mosque and the rights of the Palestinian people, in particular the right to self-determination.”

Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif 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.

Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering support for the creation of a sovereign, independent, viable, and contiguous Palestinian State based on pre-June 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.