By Muhammad Luqman
Pakistan has supported Palestine’s demand for making Jerusalem the capital of its independent state on the basis of pre-1967 borders, according to a foreign office statement.
The announcement comes a day after US President Donald J. Trump presented his Middle East plan as a solution to one of the world’s long standing conflicts.
The plan unveiled by Trump would allow the Palestinians to establish a capital on the outskirts of east Jerusalem but would leave most of the city under Israeli control. It also envisages a Palestinian state in parts of the West Bank, but would allow Israel to annex its settlements in the occupied territory.
The Foreign Office, in its statement today, said Pakistan has “seen the peace plan that the United States has presented for the Middle East”.
However, the FO clarified that while Pakistan “has consistently supported a two-state solution, as enshrined in the relevant Security Council and General Assembly Resolutions”, it wants the “establishment of a viable, independent and contiguous State of Palestine, on the basis of internationally-agreed parameters, the pre-1967 borders, and with Al-Quds Al-Sharif [Jerusalem] as its capital”.
UN resolutions on the issue term all Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal and call for a solution based on borders before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, with agreed land swaps.
“Pakistan continues to support a just and lasting solution of the Palestinian issue, through dialogue and negotiations,” the statement said.
It added that Pakistan wants a solution that “leads to the realisation of the legitimate rights of the Palestinians, including the right of self-determination.”
