Roundtable on Gaza held

Islamabad: Former ambassador Tasneem Aslam has said that the current turmoil in Gaza is not something that occurred overnight, but, in fact is a consequence of persistent humiliation, dehumanisation and marginalisation of the Palestinians.

Mr Aslam was addressing a roundtable on “Middle East conflict – evolving geopolitical dynamics” organised by Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) here Sunday.

Mr Aslam said that this war will only lead to greater instability in the Middle East, while severely impacting countries like Egypt, and others too. He added that the conflict shook the conscience of people around the world.

Another former ambassador Riffat Masood observed that the world must look at and understand this conflict in the context of Iran-US rivalry. Their historical role necessitates their inclusion and active role in the discourse for the peaceful resolution of this conflict.

Dr Zafar Nawaz Jaspal from School of Politics and International Relations, Quaid-i-Azam University, said that the massive public support for Palestinians witnessed in the West following the latest conflict in the Middle East indicates how public failed to influence the Western democratically-elected governments.

He applauded China’s role as a global harbinger of peace given how it envisions a two-state solution as the only viable option to resolve the Palestine-Israel issue.

Former diplomat Shah­zad Choudhry emphasised the need for a two-state solution to prevent the deterioration of the humanitarian crisis and ensure long-lasting peace. He opined that key figures including Biden, Netanyahu and the Palestinian leadership could pave the way for peace through such an agreement.

Haroon Sharif, former Minister of State believed that the self-serving economic and political interests blinded the conscience of the countries including the ones most proximate to the conflict. These short-term transactional commercial interests triumphed over the morality and rationality of the leadership of most of them to adopt a unified stance, he added.

Lt Gen (r) Asif Yaseen Malik criticised the role of peace bodies in resolving the conflict for their casual approach and lack of strategic foresight that Palestine holds minimal significance on their agenda Dr Muhammad Ali Ehsan, a postdoctoral scholar at the International Affairs Department of Kazan Federal University, Russia, and Qazi Humayun spoke on the occasion.