KARACHI: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Thursday announced a complete ban on all kinds of events relating to New Year celebrations to express solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestin, Dawn.com reported.

He requested the nation to show solidarity with the Palestinians and exhibit sobriety and humility at the New Year.

In a special televised message, the prime minister said the entire Pakistani nation and the Muslim Ummah were deeply saddened by the genocide of the oppressed Palestinians, especially the massacre of innocent children, in Gaza and the West Bank.

“Since October 7, 2023, more than 21,000 innocent Palestinians have been martyred by the brutal Israeli forces, including a large number of innocent children — around 9,000,” the prime minister said, adding that to stop the Israeli bloodshed, Pakistan had raised its voice for the oppressed Palestinians at every world forum and it would continue to do so in future as well.

PM Kakar pointed out that Pakistan had sent two consignments of relief goods for the Palestinian brothers and sisters, while the third one would be dispatched soon.

Likewise, he said, the government of Pakistan was in close contact with Egypt and Jordan for the provision of timely relief to the Palestinians, besides evacuation of the injured from Gaza and their treatment.

The prime minister prayed to Allah Almighty that the New Year might dawn with the message of peace, prosperity and harmony for Pakistan and rest of the world.

Sharjah also banned New Year’s Eve fireworks a day ago as an expression of solidarity with Gazans.

The decision was announced in a Facebook post by Sharjah police, warning on Tuesday that legal measures would be taken against those found violating the ban.

The ban is “a sincere expression of solidarity and humanitarian cooperation with our siblings in the Gaza Strip,” Sharjah police had said in the post.

Sharjah is the United Arab Emirate’s third-largest emirate by size and population behind Abu Dhabi and Dubai. There are seven emirates.

Sharjah’s decision on New Year’s Eve fireworks appeared to be limited to that one emirate as public celebrations continued to be advertised in the country’s other emirates.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2023