CONSEQUENCES OF A MIDDLE EAST WAR WILL BE 'BEYOND IMAGINATION', PAKISTAN PM SAYS IN UN SPEECH

By Shakir Husain

NEW DELHI, Sept 28 (Bernama) -- Pakistan accused Israel of carrying out a systematic slaughter of the Palestinian people and warned that a regional war will lead to consequences "beyond imagination."

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the current world order is facing the most daunting challenges due to problems such as Israel's genocidal war, the Ukraine war and conflicts in Asia and Africa.

What Israel is doing in Palestine "shakes the very conscience of humanity," the Pakistan prime minister said in his speech during the UN General Assembly session on Friday.

"Can we, as human beings, remain silent while children lie buried under the rubble of their shattered homes? Can we turn a blind eye to the mothers cradling the lifeless bodies of their children? This is not just a conflict, this is systematic slaughter of innocent people, an assault on the very essence of human life and dignity," Shehbaz said.

With Israel continuing to murder a large number of people in its daily bombardment of Gaza and expanding its attacks on Lebanon, many countries fear an all-out regional war is more likely.

The Pakistan prime minister warned such a war will be catastrophic.

"In a span of a few days, Israel's unrelenting bombing of Lebanon, has killed over 500 people including women and even small children. The failure to implement UN resolutions has emboldened Israel. It threatens to drag the entire Middle East into a war whose consequences could be grave and beyond imagination," Shehbaz said.

Since the Pakistan prime minister delivered those alarming words, regional tensions went up several notches after Israel launched a massive air attack on Lebanon's capital Beirut on Friday.

The Israeli military said it targeted Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah when it destroyed several residential blocks.

The Zionist regime's growing military adventurism threatens to provoke further military response from Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen and allied militias in Syria and Iraq against Israeli and American targets in the Middle East.

The UN Security Council on Friday held a debate on the latest Gaza situation.

The Israeli genocidal campaign has killed more than 41,500 Palestinians and 80 per cent of the territory's 2.3 million people have been displaced.

Israelis have also targeted the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, its shelters, warehouses and destroyed Palestinian hospitals and medical facilities.

-- BERNAMA