The Indians are furious, but a palestinan official sharing a stage with a terrorist sounds to me like a regular PA general meeting.
Palestine has decided to recall its ambassador to Pakistan, Walid Abu Ali, for sharing a stage with Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief and 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan, Palestinian envoy to India Adnan Abu Al Haija said on Saturday.
“The Palestine government has told Ali that he was not its envoy to Pakistan anymore,” Haija told PTI.
The top envoy said that Ali has been given couple of days to pack and return from Islamabad.
“We are supporting India in its fight against terrorism and because of that my government decided to directly call our Ambassador to go back home, not to be Palestine ambassador to Pakistan anymore,” Haija told ANI.
Earlier in the day, Palestine expressed regret after India strongly condemned the Palestinian envoy’s presence at a rally organised by Saeed in Pakistan’s Rawalpindi on Friday.
“The Palestinian side has conveyed deep regrets over the incident and assured the Government of India that they are taking serious cognizance of their Ambassador’s presence at this event,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
In a strongly worded demarche to the Palestinian government, India reminded them that Saeed is a UN-designated terrorist and the ambassador’s association with the JuD chief is “unacceptable”.
“Government of India has strongly conveyed to the Palestinian side that the Palestinian Ambassador in Pakistan’s association with terrorist Hafiz Saeed, who is proscribed by the United Nations, at an event in Rawalpindi on 29.12.2017, is unacceptable,” the statement read.
Palestine further assured that in view of its bilateral ties with New Delhi, it will not engage with terrorists who seek to destabilize India.
“They have said they will deal with this matter appropriately. It was also conveyed that Palestine highly values its relationship with India and stands with us in war against terrorism and will not engage with those who commit acts of terror against India,” said the MEA.
According to reports, Palestinian ambassador in Islamabad Walid Abu Ali attended a large rally organised by the Difa-e-Pakistan Council in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on Friday morning.
Difa-e-Pakistan (Defence of Pakistan) Council (DPC) is an alliance of Islamist groups in Pakistan, including Saeed’s outfit.
Is India truly surprised a representative of a group of people who practically invented modern forms of terrorism, and who still incite and engage in terror, would consort with a terrorist? And do they honestly believe the palestinian assurance that they stand with India in the war against terror?
It seems to me that India is willing to give the palestinians a pass as long as the terrorism they support or engage in is not against Indians. This attitude, as well as India’s recent UNGA vote against the US’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, is all rather disappointing, especially give Indian Prime Minister Modi’s recent successful visit to Israel.