ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani delegation to the UN General Assembly staged a walkout in protest as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the podium, vowing to continue Israel’s attacks on Iranian-backed fighters in Lebanon in a closely watched United Nations speech on Friday.
Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza in Oct 2023, Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issue at the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other multilateral platforms and demanded international powers and bodies stop Israeli military actions in Gaza. The South Asian country has also dispatched several aid consignments for Palestine.
Video footage widely shared on social media showed the Pakistani delegation walking out of the UNGA hall.
“Pakistani delegation led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif walked out as Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahi took the podium after PM Shehbaz’s speech,” the foreign office said, as it shared a video of the walkout with reporters. 
Netanyahu’s speech on Friday dampened hopes for a ceasefire that could head off an all-out regional war.
“As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice, and Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their homes safely,” Netanyahu told the UNGA, referring to escalating violence between the Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel.
“Israel has been tolerating this intolerable situation for nearly a year. Well, I’ve come here today to say enough is enough.”
Several delegations including Pakistan’s walked out as Netanyahu approached the lectern while supporters in the gallery cheered.
In southern Lebanon, Israel continued to strike Hezbollah targets while diplomats at the UN voiced fears the attacks could flare into a wider war that draws in Israel’s arch-foe, Iran.
In his speech, Netanyahu sought to pin blame for the conflict on Iran, whose delegation was absent for the speech. He said Israel was defending itself against Tehran on seven fronts, including against Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthis in Yemen.
“There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach. And that’s true of the entire Middle East. Far from being lambs led to the slaughter, Israel soldiers have fought back with incredible courage,” Netanyahu said.
“I have another message for this assembly and for the world outside this hall: We are winning,” he said. “We’ll continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are made.”
During the speech, Netanyahu cited the presence in the hall of families of hostages seized by Hamas on Oct. 7. The war began when Hamas gunmen stormed Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, Israel’s military has leveled swaths of the besieged Palestinian enclave, driving nearly all of its 2.3 million people from their homes, giving rise to deadly hunger and disease and killing more than 41,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.
With inputs from Reuters

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government has delayed the auction of national carrier Pakistan International Airlines for the third time with no new date announced as potential bidders seek more time and information to assess the airline, a spokesman for the privatization ministry said on Friday.
The disposal of the flag carrier is a step that past elected governments have steered away from as it is likely to be highly unpopular, but progress on privatization is a precondition for cash-strapped Pakistan for an IMF bailout agreement approved this week.
The government announced in June it had selected six companies qualified to bid for PIA out of a pool of eight after receiving expressions of interest. The initial plan was to finalize the deal to sell PIA on the country’s Independence Day, Aug. 14, but the plan was delayed following requests from bidders who were waiting for the airline’s latest audited accounts, aircraft lease agreements and clarity on flights to Europe, which are currently banned. This was followed by September and October dates for the auction, but those have also not materialized. 
Pakistan plans to sell more than 51 percent of its stake in the loss-making airline as part of the economic reforms suggested by the IMF which approved a long-awaited 37-month $7 billion bailout deal on Wednesday that will require “sound policies and reforms” to strengthen macroeconomic stability and address structural challenges alongside “continued strong financial support from Pakistan’s development and bilateral partners.”
“Bidding is postponed but no new date is given officially,” Dr. Ahsan Ishaq, a spokesperson for privatization ministry, told Arab News on Friday.
He said the ministry had received “no official reason” from the bidders to delay the process but confirmed that they had been requesting more time and information to assess the carrier.
In August, the country’s central bank refused to grant a waiver or exemption to prospective buyers regarding PIA’s commercial bank loans of Rs268 billion ($971.1 million) and other financial guarantees in dollar terms, a development viewed as a setback to the privatization bid.
Dr. Ishaq said his ministry was in touch with the central bank to resolve the issue regarding all outstanding commercial loans of the national carrier before its final bid.
According to the ministry, the pre-qualified bidders for PIA include Air Blue, Arif Habib Corporation, Blue World City, Fly Jinnah, Pak Ethanol (Pvt) Consortium and YB Holdings Consortium.
Official data available with Arab News shows there are 88 commercially operated state-owned enterprises in Pakistan, with collective losses of up to Rs730.258 billion ($2.61 billion) in the fiscal year 2022 (FY22).
In its five-year privatization plan ending in 2029, the government has approved 24 state-owned enterprises for sale, including PIA.
The top ten loss-making Pakistani entities, including PIA with Rs97.5 billion, the National Highways Authority at Rs168.5 billion and the Peshawar Electric Supply Company Limited with Rs102.2 billion, accounted for cumulative losses of Rs650.197 billion ($2.33 billion) in FY22, according to official data.
In contrast, the remaining enterprises reported combined losses of Rs80 billion ($286 million) during the same fiscal year.
Dr. Ishaq said PIA’s cumulative losses alone had surpassed Rs800 billion ($2.86 billion), with the total asset valuation of the airline standing at approximately Rs160 billion ($572 million).
Haroon Sharif, a former member of the Cabinet Committee on Privatization and a senior economist, said the government should have started the privatization process with “simpler transactions” to improve the confidence of investors instead of trying to sell complicated organizations like PIA.
“It is difficult to smoothly privatize PIA as its accounts, assets and financial records are not as transparent as required by the bidders,” he told Arab News, suggesting that the government bifurcate the PIA into four or five different sections and privatize them in parts.
“The potential bidders will definitely want to see clear and transparent audits, assets and liabilities of PIA before going ahead for the final auction, so that’s why this may take some time,” Sharif said. “The government should also refrain from privatizing the national carrier in haste, otherwise it will backfire.”
With a fleet of 34 aircraft comprising 17 Airbus A320s, 12 Boeing B777s and 5 ATRs, the airline loses traffic to Middle Eastern carriers, who have a market share of 60 percent, because of an absence of direct flights to destinations.
The carrier has air service pacts with 87 countries, and landing slots at key destinations such as London Heathrow.
The re-organization plan of the business will separate the aviation-related aspects from non-core components, so freeing the operating subsidiary of a large portion of legacy debt.