Amid Israel's ongoing war against Hamas, former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's son-in-law Captain Safdar has asked the people in the country to get ready for the Jihad and back the Muslims in Palestine. He also said that Pakistan's nuclear weapon was not only for Pakistan but for all Muslims.
Speaking at a pro-Palestine rally in Peshawar, Safdar on Saturday referred to the war in Gaza and said that the women were being attacked in Palestine. He then warned: "Pakistan's atom bomb is not only for this country but for all Muslims." Safdar further asked the crowd to "get ready for Jihad". "Today, people in Palestine are looking at you...tell the Muslims of Gaza that we are with you. The Muslims of Gaza, we are with you. We are with oppressed Palestinians."
Israel is at war with Gaza, which is controlled by the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas. The war began after Hamas carried out the deadliest attack on Israel, killing over 1,300 Israelis. In response to the attack, Israel has been conducting airstrikes in Gaza. Muslims in some countries have backed Hamas and asked Israel to settle the decades-old Palestinian issue.
In Pakistan, several rallies were held to back the Palestinians. Last Friday, hundreds of Pakistanis took to the streets in several parts of Pakistan to voice their protest against Israel's relentless bombing on Gaza. In Lahore, a huge rally was held at Mall Road by the Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, with protesters carrying a giant flag of Palestine. Rallies were held in Peshawar, Karachi, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Quetta, and Islamabad.
On Sunday, former Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned Israel's war against Hamas. He said the bombing in Gaza must stop immediately. "We appeal to the OIC nations to provide food and medicines to Palestinians urgently. We all support an independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds as its capital."
Pro-Palestinian rallies have also been reported from countries like France and the UK. Earlier today, UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman said that last weekend, a mob marched through London chanting "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" - a slogan that is widely understood as a demand for the destruction of Israel. She said attempts to pretend otherwise were "disingenuous".
"It means the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea- the boundaries of Israel - and comes from the dark days when most Palestinian groups sought to eliminate Israel," she said. "The slogan was taken up by Islamists, including Hamas, and remains a staple of antisemitic discourse. To hear it shouted in public causes alarm not just to Jews but to all decent people. Those who promote hate on Britain’s streets should realise that our tolerance has limits."