ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani on Wednesday called for unity in the Muslim Ummah [Muslim nationhood] to deal with emerging challenges, especially the one coming forth through a nexus formed among the United States, Israel and India.
Addressing the 13th session of Parliamentary Union of Islamic Countries (PUIC) in Tehran, the Senate chairman said, “There is a changing world scenario in which a nexus among the US, Israel and India is emerging and the Ummah needs unity to deal with this.”
Raza Rabbani is leading a delegation of senators to participate in the session of PUIC on an invitation of the speaker of the Iranian parliament, APP reported.
Rabbani said Pakistan strongly opposes the US’s attempt to alter the legal and historical status of Jerusalem, which was a blatant violation of international law and the UN Security Council resolutions, particularly the UNSCR 478.
Commenting on Pakistan’s policy towards the Middle East region, Rabbani said Pakistan condemned the decision to derail the Middle East peace process in an already volatile region. “This move not only defies the rule of law and international norms, but also reinforces the hegemonic and belligerent ‘might is right’ policies in international relations.”
Rabbani cautioned that success of the international campaign against terrorism would be undermined by such regressive moves that only served to perpetuate and deepen frustration and anger among the affected populations.
He said, “Pakistan fully supports Palestinians’ demand for an independent state and supports the just cause of the Palestinian people.”
The Senate and the National Assembly, he said, in their respective sittings in August 2014, passed separate resolutions expressing strong support for the Palestinian cause.
He, however, underscored the need to make both the OIC and PUIC more vibrant and proactive in responding to challenges as well as other needs of the Muslim world today. “We must resolve and rise above divisive conflicts be it sectarian, ideological or communal.”
He underscored enhancement of multi-stratum cooperation in areas such as economy, trade, infrastructure, investment, education, health, science and technology, agriculture, energy and defence.
Expressing the country’s commitment to the war on terror, he said Pakistan has borne the brunt of the war on terror for over 15 years, and thousands of Pakistanis, military personnel as well as civilians lost their lives and almost as many have been wounded. It would continue to play a proactive role against this tide of extremism and anarchy, he added.
The chairman also urged for collective efforts to root out the menace of terrorism so a handful of extremists and transnational terrorists could not malign Islam for their vested interests. “We need to promote true image and message of Islam as a religion of peace, tolerance and respect for human dignity, rights and freedoms and PUIC as an institutional voice of elected representatives of the Muslim world can play an important role.”
Raza Rabbani urged to fully exploiting the huge potential of the Muslim world for its progress as it faced challenges of war, poor healthcare, poverty and violations of human rights, illiteracy, lack of progress and political transparency, ethnic conflict, and regional divisions.
He mentioned to atrocities being perpetrated against Muslims in Palestine, Kashmir, Myanmar as well as the seething unrest in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.
Rabbani termed the PUIC a step forward for increased mutually-beneficial integration within the Muslim world as it envisaged the “strengthening of contacts, cooperation and coordination between the various Muslim countries’ parliamentary, governmental and non-governmental organisations, with the aim of advancing common objectives.”
Concluding with a wish for the success of the conference, Rabbani hoped that such endeavours might significantly contribute towards further strengthening of the ties between all the Muslim countries.