ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, on Tuesday criticized Israel for using “aggression as a tool of policy” in the Middle East, condemning Israeli military actions against regional states and demanding an end to its 20-month war on Gaza.

Dar said this while addressing a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM), which came in the backdrop of heightened tensions in South Asia and the Middle East, particularly after the Pakistan-India conflict and Israeli military actions against several Gulf countries.

Israel’s war on Gaza, which began after Oct. 2023 attacks by Hamas on Israel, has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, over half of them women and children, according to the Palestinian health ministry. On Tuesday, the UN rights office said it had recorded at least 875 killings within the past six weeks at aid points in Gaza.

Speaking at the CFM meeting, Dar said Pakistan was seriously concerned at the trends of using aggression as a tool of policy, emphasizing the resolution of disputes through peaceful means and according to the principles of international law, justice and fairness.

“Israel has shown a reckless disregard for international norms and humanity through its relentless and disproportionate use of force in Gaza resulting in the death of tens of thousands of civilians causing the worst humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” he said.

“We call for immediate halt to Israel’s atrocities.”

Dar said the only viable remedy to the Palestine dispute was the realization of the two-state solution, which includes the establishment of Palestine as a viable, secure and contiguous state on the basis of pre-1967 borders.

He also condemned the “unjustified and illegitimate aggression” by Israel against Iran and the United States (US) strikes on its nuclear facilities.

“Such illegal actions directed against SCO member states are unacceptable,” Dar said.

The 12-day war between Iran and Israel, which began on June 13 Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and military leadership, killed around 1,000 Iranians and more than two dozen Israelis.

The SCO, comprising China, Russia, Pakistan, India, Iran, Belarus and Central Asian states, is seen by some Western analysts as a regional grouping by Beijing and Moscow to counter United States influence in Asia.

The CFM meeting, a key diplomatic gathering aimed at preparing the groundwork for the upcoming SCO Leaders’ Summit later this year, was convened to review progress on multilateral cooperation and set the agenda for endorsement by heads of state.

ISLAMABAD: At least five more people were killed in rain-related incidents in Pakistan in the last 24 hours, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Tuesday, taking the overall monsoon death toll to 116 since late June.

In Punjab, two children died after being struck by lightning in Okara, while two others were killed in a house collapse in Bahawalnagar. A man was killed in a house collapse in Sindh’s Hyderabad. At least 253 people have been injured in rain-related incidents since monsoon began in late June.

In its latest report on Tuesday, the NDMA said monsoon currents from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal were penetrating into central parts of Pakistan and were likely to cause thunderstorm and heavy rains.

“Scattered to widespread thunderstorm/rain with isolated heavy falls and torrential rains at few places is expected over Bahawalpur, Multan, DG Khan, Sahiwal, Lahore, Gujranwala and Faisalabad Divisions,” it said.

“Scattered thunderstorm/rain with isolated heavy falls is expected over the upper catchments of all rivers along with Islamabad, upper Sindh, east Balochistan, Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, DI Khan, Rawalpindi and Sargodha Divisions.”

The authority said flash flooding due to hill torrents is expected in DG Khan and east Balochistan on July 15-16, while urban flooding is expected in major Punjab cities over the next two days.

The NDMA earlier directed authorities to ensure deployment of emergency teams, improve drainage systems and coordinate closely with local administration. It advised public to stay away from weak structures and electricity poles, avoid unnecessary travel and relocate vehicles and livestock to safer locations.

Monsoon season brings South Asia 70 to 80 percent of its annual rainfall, arriving in early June in India and late June in Pakistan, and lasting through until September.

The annual rains are vital for agriculture and food security, and the livelihoods of millions of farmers. But increasingly erratic and extreme weather patterns are turning the rains into a destructive force.

Pakistan is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, and its 240 million residents are facing extreme weather events with increasing frequency.

In 2022, unprecedented monsoon floods submerged a third of Pakistan and killed 1,700 people, with some areas yet to recover from the damage. In May, at least 32 people were killed in severe storms, including strong hailstorms.