Pakistani Premier Sharif hosts Palestinian students amid Israeli war on Gaza

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday hosted Palestinian students, who arrived in the South Asian country last week to complete their remaining education, calling out the international community for its failure to stop Israeli brutalities in Gaza.

“The international community has failed to hold Israel accountable for bombing hospitals, mosques, schools and shelter camps with impunity,” Sharif said, according to state-run Pakistan Television.

He lamented that the International Court of Justice’s order for Israel could not stop Tel Aviv from committing genocide in Gaza.

Some 27 medical students arrived in Lahore from Cairo, marking the first wave of Palestinian students accepted under a scholarship initiative announced by the government and Al-Khidmat Foundation, a major Pakistani relief organization, in July.

Al-Khidmat Foundation partnered with International Rafah University Islamabad to offer scholarships to over 100 students from Gaza, following an agreement signed with the Palestinian Embassy in Islamabad in June.

“It’s not a favor but it’s our duty. You are not guests here. You are our brothers and very own,” Sharif said.

Students, for their part, thanked the Pakistani government and Al-Khidmat Foundation for assisting them in the completion of their studies.

The Israeli army has continued a devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 42,700 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 100,300 others injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught on Gaza has displaced almost the territory’s entire population amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.