The government and coalition partners decided on Thursday to observe a day of mourning across Pakistan on Friday (tomorrow) in solidarity with Palestinians and to condemn Israel’s terrorism in Palestine.

In its joint declaration, they decided to perform the funeral prayer in absentia of chief of Hamas Political Bureau Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran on Wednesday, in the entire country after the Friday prayers.

It was issued after a consultative meeting of the allied parties regarding the deteriorating situation in Palestine presided over by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

They also decided to present a resolution in Parliament to express full solidarity with Palestine.

Participants of the meeting jointly expressed their grief and anger over the ongoing Israeli cruelty and brutality on the people in Palestine for the last nine months. They condemned the Israeli atrocities and expressed solidarity with the Palestinian brothers and sisters.

The Middle East situation got tensed with the assassination of Haniyeh, with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned that the group was bound to respond to Israel’s killing of its top military commander, saying his death and that of the Hamas leader “crossed” red lines.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel was prepared for any “aggression” following threats of retaliation for the killings of Haniyeh and Shukr.

In the meeting, Pakistani leaders expressed sorrow over the martyrdom of Haniyeh. They agreed that the incident was a “deliberate conspiracy to sabotage the efforts to stop the ongoing atrocities on Palestinians and establish peace in the region.” Such events “destroy the world peace” and create more tension in the region, they added.

PM Shehbaz termed Israel’s actions in Palestine as a “tragedy” for the Muslim Ummah. The leaders demanded immediate access to humanitarian aid for the unarmed Palestinians.

They added that Pakistan would continue the delivery of relief goods to Palestine and take measures for the medical assistance of the Palestinians, under which the injured people would be brought to Pakistan for treatment.

Palestinian medical students would be admitted to the medical colleges of Pakistan on an aid basis to continue their education, they added.

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Participants were of the view that with the “ongoing genocide and state-sponsored terrorism” in Palestine, Israel was violating the resolutions of the United Nations, the decisions of the International Court of Justice and international laws while the international community remained a “silent spectator.”

They demanded that the entire international community must adopt a clear position to stop the cruelty and brutality, otherwise the status of international laws and institutions would remain a “question mark” for future generations.

They also demanded the international community, including the United Nations, break its silence and stop the “genocide” of the Palestinians and bring Israel to justice for war crimes and atrocities on the Palestinians.