ISLAMABAD, June 28: Pakistan on Wednesday expressed concern over Israeli incursions into Gaza and underlined the need for the international community to step in to resolve the crisis.
Reacting to the Israeli incursions, Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said: “It is hoped that the international community would take the necessary steps to help resolve the crisis through peaceful means.”
She said: “We regret the reports about Israeli incursion into Gaza, the total blockade of the Gaza Strip and the destruction of Palestinian infrastructure.”
The spokesperson warned that the escalation of hostilities between Israel and Palestine would further impede the international effort to stop the cycle of violence and restart the negotiations.
ELECTION: Meanwhile, the Foreign Office has moved swiftly to clarify reported comments by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on free and fair elections in Pakistan at a press conference here on Thursday and said the subject did not figure in her meeting with the president.
“Such a subject was not discussed during Secretary Rice’s meting with the president on June 27,” a statement by the Foreign Office said.
It added: “There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that the elections will be free and fair. This is the commitment of the leadership and government of Pakistan.”
The Foreign Office said that Pakistan had strong and functioning democratic institutions. On the democratic processes in Pakistan, it said: “We do not require advice from outside,” adding that the issue essentially concerned the people of Pakistan.
