Dar calls for permanent Gaza ceasefire, Palestinian state

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, unhindered humanitarian assistance and an irreversible political process leading to an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

Dar presented Pakistan’s position at a high-level international meeting on the two-state solution held on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The meeting marked one year since the New York Declaration and focused on the way forward under the declaration and the Comprehensive 20-Point Peace Plan.

Dar said Pakistan took pride in its role in efforts toward peace while remaining deeply conscious of the scale of the challenge.

He said Pakistan had endorsed the New York Declaration and was among the eight Arab and Islamic countries that backed the Gaza peace plan and the Board of Peace initiative.

Pakistan, as a member of the UN Security Council, also voted in favour of Resolution 2803 in November 2025. The resolution endorsed the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict and welcomed the establishment of the Board of Peace.

Dar said the initiatives were complementary components of a broader political and diplomatic process and should reinforce one another.

He said Pakistan’s primary objective from the outset had been to end the loss of innocent Palestinian lives and their suffering, ensure unhindered humanitarian assistance and advance a credible political path toward Palestinian statehood.

The deputy prime minister expressed serious concern over ceasefire violations and the loss of lives in Gaza. He also raised concerns over the expansion of Israeli settlements and settler violence in the occupied West Bank. Pakistan has made similar calls for full implementation of the Gaza peace plan and Security Council Resolution 2803 during meetings in New York this week.

Dar said the occupation was undermining the territorial and political foundations required for a viable Palestinian state and called for an immediate end to actions threatening the two-state solution.

He said the New York Declaration provided an important political framework for translating international consensus into action.

Dar called for implementation of the declaration alongside the Gaza peace plan and Resolution 2803 to ensure a permanent ceasefire and safe, sustained and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance.

He said conditions should also be created for recovery and reconstruction in Palestinian territories and for a credible, irreversible and time-bound political process.

The ultimate objective, Dar said, was to end the occupation and realise the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination through the establishment of an independent, sovereign and geographically contiguous Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

He said Pakistan would continue to play a constructive role in achieving that objective.

The high-level meeting brought together French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas participated via video link.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre were among other participants.

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Council President António Costa, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and High Representative of the Board of Peace for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov also attended the meeting.