UPDATE - Hezbollah leader's assassination by Israel constitutes 'major' escalation, says Pakistan

UPDATES WITH COUNTRYWIDE PROTESTS, CHANGES DECK

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan on Sunday condemned Israel's killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, calling the act a "reckless" escalation in an already volatile region.

"Pakistan strongly condemns the growing Israeli adventurism in the Middle East. Its unbridled attacks on civilian populations and disregard for international law have reached alarming levels," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry criticized Israel for what it called "unacceptable" violations of Lebanese sovereignty, stating that Israeli forces have been relentlessly targeting civilian areas, destabilizing Lebanon and undermining its security.

"We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims of Israeli aggression and to the people of Lebanon," the statement added, reiterating Pakistan's solidarity with Lebanon.

Islamabad urged the UN Security Council to take action to restrain Israel and address its violations of international law, calling for the restoration of peace in the Middle East.

Israeli forces launched large-scale airstrikes in Lebanon earlier this week, killing hundreds and displacing thousands. Tensions escalated further after Nasrallah and other Hezbollah commanders were killed in Beirut on Friday.

Israeli bombing of parts of the Lebanese capital continued into Saturday.

Protest demonstrations and funeral in absentia for slain Hezbollah leader were held across Pakistan on Sunday.

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), the country's main religio-political party, gave the call for protests.

In the capital Islamabad, commercial capital Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Multan, Faisalabad and other cities, thousands of people took to the streets to lodge their protest, and attended funeral in absentia for Nasrallah.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan also "strongly" condemned Israel's continuing war crimes being committed in Palestine and Lebanon.

In a post on X, Khan said: "The supply of weapons from Western states, enabling Israel's commission of the genocide of innocent Palestinians & war crimes against Lebanon is equally condemnable. It is our collective failure that has allowed Israel to blatantly broaden this conflict through the region."

He said: "The international order based on international laws is unravelling into anarchy so injustice against the oppressed is on the rise. We are seeing it in the state terrorism of Israel."