Dr. Muhammad Khan (IR Expert): ASEAN is not just a regional forum now which consists of its 10+ member states, but it has been expanded into a large forum in which there are some 29 to 30 countries, including US, China, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

It is the right moment for Pakistan to raise its security concerns and issues of Kashmir, Palestine and Afghanistan at the forum. Security issues affect all regional countries but Pakistan is the most affected one due to the role of Taliban in Afghanistan. ASEAN should play its role in resolving the issues threatening security of the region, including Pakistan and neighboring countries. Pakistan is reminding all members of the forum that this is a collective responsibility. The forum has to play its role in resolving the security issues which have created a lot of problems and because of this, Pakistan has political as well as economic problems.

In view of the ongoing military aggression in Gaza, Israeli PM Netanyahu’s address to the US congress was a shame for the house, as he urged the congress to provide more weapons on urgent basis for a quick victory. It means that the US is providing ammunitions which are being used against the people of Gaza. This is a matter of shame for the US which is trying to become a champion of Human Rights. On one hand, America calls for safety and security of human rights anywhere in the world but when it comes to Gaza, it speaks nothing. This is clearly a planned genocide of Palestinians and it is very unfortunate that the Muslim world is quiet and this is again very very unfortunate that the world community as a whole under the UN remains silent on the matter.