Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, the acting prime minister, declared on Thursday that all New Year’s festivities would be outlawed nationwide in support of the Palestinian people, who are currently experiencing the worst acts of violence from Israel since October 7.
Pakistan has consistently shown support for the marginalized Palestinians in international fora and denounced Israel’s thousands-of-fathom slaughter.
“The Pakistani nation is in a sad state […] so keeping in mind the situation, the Government of Pakistan has decided to ban all celebrations related to New Year’s,” Kakar stated in a televised speech.
In this image from a video, caretaker prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar addresses the country on December 28, 2023, during a broadcast speech from Islamabad.
With a persistent air and military offensive, Israel has destroyed large swaths of Gaza and killed at least 21,320 Palestinians, the majority of whom were women and children, in its quest to defeat Hamas.
With the war having stretched on for over a month and Israeli officials promising to keep hitting the territory controlled by Hamas for several more months, the situation in Gaza is dire.
The population of Gaza is in “grave peril,” according to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, who cited “terrible injuries, acute hunger, and […] severe risk of disease.”
In his speech, Kakar mentioned that Pakistan has already delivered two assistance shipments to Gaza and is scheduled to send a third shortly in an effort to lessen the people’s suffering in the wake of Israel’s murderous onslaught.
He mentioned that in order to ensure that the efforts were focused on improving the situation for Palestinians, Pakistani officials were in communication with their counterparts in Egypt and Jordan.
In Pakistan, there are numerous private and government-organized New Year’s Eve celebrations where both families and young people spend a fun-filled evening. On the other hand, reckless driving and joyous firing can cause accidents and fatalities during this time.
In a show of support for the people of Gaza, Sharjah, an emirate of the United Arab Emirates and one of the few Arab nations with formal diplomatic connections to Israel, has prohibited fireworks for New Year’s Eve this year.
The prohibition is “a sincere expression of solidarity and humanitarian cooperation with our siblings in the Gaza Strip,” according to a post by the Sharjah police.
