Resolution of Palestine issue 'must' for global peace, says Iranian president

KARACHI, Pakistan

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday said that resolution of the long-smoldering Palestine issue is a "must" for global peace, adding that Palestinians' "freedom is Tehran's "top priority."

Addressing the students and faculty of Government College University in the northeastern city of Lahore on the second day of his Pakistan visit, Raisi observed that the resolution of the Palestine issue is not only in the interest of the Muslim "ummah" and the region but also for the entire world, state-run Pakistan Television reported.

He observed that Israeli forces have killed over 34,000 Palestinians over the past seven months, but the international community and the UN have failed to stop Tel Aviv's "brutalities" in Gaza.

Noting that Tehran and Islamabad share a similar stand on Palestine, he said it is the joint responsibility of Muslim ummah to support Palestinians' resistance.

He appreciated Islamabad for holding a "firm" stand on the Palestine issue.

The Iranian leader, who is on a three-day visit to the neighboring South Asian country, later flew to the commercial capital Karachi in the third and final leg of his tour. He visited the mausoleum of the country's founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah and attended a ceremony at the Governor’s House.

Raisi was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Karachi at the ceremony.

Earlier, he also visited the mausoleum of the national poet, Allama Mohammad Iqbal, in Lahore.

Raisi arrived in the capital Islamabad on Monday, where he met with President Asif Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir. The two sides committed to increasing the bilateral trade volume to $10 billion over the next five years.