ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday reaffirmed its unwavering support for the Palestinian people as the country joined the international community in commemorating the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, describing the continued suffering of Palestinians as a grave challenge to justice, international law and human dignity.

Observed annually on May 15, Nakba, Arabic for “catastrophe,” marks the mass displacement of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

More than 750,000 Palestinians were uprooted from their homes and villages, an event that remains central to the Palestinian national identity and refugee crisis.

For Palestinians and many countries supporting their cause, the Nakba is not viewed solely as a historical event, but as an ongoing reality shaped by occupation, displacement, statelessness and denial of fundamental rights.

In separate messages issued on International Nakba Day, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterated Pakistan’s longstanding position in support of Palestinian self-determination and statehood, while calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and renewed international efforts toward a just and lasting resolution of the Palestine issue.

President Zardari said the Nakba represented “the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes and lands, leading to their prolonged suffering.”

“For the Palestinian people, the Nakba is not a closed chapter of history. It remains a continuing reality marked by occupation, displacement, dispossession and denial of rights,” the president said.

He emphasized that Pakistan had “consistently stood by the Palestinian people” and continued to advocate for their “legitimate and inalienable rights” at the United Nations and other international forums.

Pakistan’s support for Palestine has remained a central pillar of its foreign policy since independence, rooted in its support for anti-colonial struggles and the principle of self-determination.

Islamabad has consistently backed resolutions supporting Palestinian rights at the United Nations, opposed Israeli occupation policies, and called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

President Zardari urged the international community to ensure continued support for Palestinian refugees and uphold their Right of Return under United Nations Resolution 194.

“The Right of Return of Palestinian refugees, as affirmed in Resolution 194, remains unfulfilled and must be upheld,” he said.

The president also reiterated Pakistan’s call for “an immediate, unconditional and sustainable ceasefire in Gaza,” unrestricted humanitarian access, and accountability for “Israel’s actions.”

“The only viable path to a just and durable peace is the realization of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, through the establishment of an independent, sovereign, and contiguous Palestinian State on the basis of the pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital,” he added.

PM Sharif, in his message marking the occasion, said Pakistan stood in “unwavering solidarity” with Palestinians enduring decades of occupation and displacement.

“As our Palestinian brethren mark the 78th solemn anniversary of Nakba, we remember the enduring suffering and displacement of the Palestinians from their homeland since 1948,” the prime minister said.

“Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with our Palestinian brothers and sisters,” he said. "We demand an immediate end to the oppression, occupation, and violence being perpetrated by Israeli occupation authorities against Palestinians.”

At the United Nations, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said the Nakba continued to define Palestinian reality nearly eight decades later.

“Seventy-eight years ago, more than 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced and uprooted from their homes. Entire cities that had flourished for centuries were emptied, occupied, and renamed. This tragedy came to be known as the Nakba — the catastrophe,” he told a special meeting convened by the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP).

“Tragically, for the Palestinians, the Nakba is not a closed chapter of history. It is a continuing reality marked by occupation, displacement, dispossession and denial of rights,” he added.

Referring to the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Ambassador Ahmad said the territory had witnessed “its most devastating contemporary manifestation” of the Nakba.

“For two years, Gaza endured devastating Israeli attacks with over 70,000 Palestinians killed, majority of them women and children. The overwhelming majority of Gaza’s population has been forcibly displaced multiple times, with nowhere safe to turn,” he said.

He also voiced concern over developments in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, citing “illegal settlement expansion, settler violence, forced displacement, arbitrary restrictions and collective punishment.”

“The condemnable storming of the Al Aqsa Mosque by Israeli extremists is the most recent manifestation of the policy, where illegality and nefarious objectives are evident to alter the demographic and geographic character of the occupied Palestinian territory,” he said.

Ahmad underscored the importance of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), calling it “indispensable for millions of Palestinian refugees” and urging sustained international political and financial support for the agency.

“On this solemn anniversary, remembrance alone is not enough. The Nakba must not be allowed to continue into another generation. It must end through justice, accountability, and vacation of occupation,” he said.

Reaffirming Pakistan’s position, the ambassador said: “Support for Palestine is etched in Pakistan’s own independence struggle. Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the people of Palestine and their just struggle for self-determination, freedom, and dignity.”

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On Nakba anniversary, Pakistan reaffirms unwavering support for Palestinians