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ISLAMABAD: A senior Palestinian official visiting Pakistan on Thursday condemned the United States for refusing visas to President Mahmoud Abbas and his delegation for this month’s UN General Assembly session and a parallel conference on reviving the two-state solution.

Dr. Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Chief Islamic Justice of Palestine and adviser to Abbas on religious affairs, is in Islamabad with a four-member delegation to attend celebrations of the 1,500th birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Washington said last week it would not allow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and others to travel to New York, where several US allies are set to recognize Palestine as a state.

Al-Habbash told Arab News the US decision was an “unjust, dangerous, and wrong” violation of international law.

“This is a major mistake and will complicate matters, but this will not stop us from continuing our struggle or from raising our voice,” Al-Habbash said.

“The voice of Palestine will be heard, through President Mahmoud Abbas, by the whole world, whether at the international conference on Sept. 22 or at the General Assembly.”

The United States, as host of the UN in New York, is obligated under its agreement with the world body not to block access for accredited delegations.

The visa refusal also means the Palestinians will miss a high-level meeting on Palestine co-hosted by France and ����ֱ��.

The US move comes amid growing momentum in Europe to recognize a Palestinian state after the latest Gaza war, which began on Oct. 7, 2023, and has killed more than 63,000 Palestinians according to Gaza health authorities. In May, Ireland, Spain and Norway announced recognition of Palestine, joining over 140 countries worldwide that already extend diplomatic recognition. France has said it is ready to do the same in coordination with EU partners, while Britain has signaled openness.

By contrast, Washington has stood firmly behind Israel, continuing military aid and diplomatic cover despite the mounting death toll in Gaza and expanding Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank. US officials have said they will not recognize Palestine outside of direct negotiations with Israel, a stance Palestinians view as blocking their international legitimacy.

Meanwhile, Israel’s far-right government has openly advanced plans to permanently occupy Gaza while simultaneously moving to entrench control over the occupied West Bank. Senior ministers have called for re-establishing Israeli settlements in Gaza, dismantled in 2005, and for formally annexing key areas of the West Bank such as the Jordan Valley and major settlement blocs including Ma’ale Adumim, Ariel and Gush Etzion. The steps have been widely condemned as violations of international law and seen as undermining any prospect of a two-state solution.

On Israel’s plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, Al-Habbash said:

 “This is an illegal action. It contradicts international law and legitimate international resolutions. It will have no legal or political validity.”

He added that Palestine would “continue to exist between the river and the sea,” while the “one who will disappear is the Israeli occupation.”

Al-Habbash also praised Pakistan as a “country of brave people,” describing Pakistanis as “our brothers who always stand by us.” He said his delegation would deliver a message from Abbas to President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on bilateral ties and the Palestinian cause.

The Palestinian delegation is scheduled to take part in the Seerat-un-Nabi conference in Islamabad, where Al-Habbash said he felt “the warmth of the hospitality” of Pakistan.

KASUR: Life has ground to a halt in the small village of Ganda Singh Wala, an area nestled along the Pakistan-India border. Murky floodwaters stand eight to nine feet high outside many homes. While much of the population has fled to safer areas, others like Muhammad Sharif have stayed behind, unable to abandon their homes.

Punjab, home to half of Pakistan’s 240 million people, has been devastated by deadly floods that swept the province last week. Authorities say 46 people have been killed and nearly 3.9 million have been affected, while 1.8 million have been displaced. Thousands of villages have been flooded with water as the Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers have overflowed since late last month.

In Kasur district’s Ganda Singh Wala area, over 148 villages have been submerged and 70,000 acres of crops destroyed, the deputy commissioner said. Authorities say nearly 76,000 people have been evacuated to relief camps.

Arab News visited the flood-stricken village on Wednesday on a trip arranged for international media by the Pakistan Army. The devastation was evident: army, navy, police and emergency rescue teams were all using boats to pull stranded villagers to safety from the deluges.

“The children have gone, but we are staying because of our houses,” Sharif, 60, told Arab News while sitting on a charpoy, a traditional bed woven with rope.

“Our houses are now also leaking. The women sweep the water out of the house with brooms,” he added.

“WHAT CAN WE DO?”

Sharif, a farmer by profession, said he was able to save livestock when the water levels rose. However, fear of thieves taking away their belongings keeps him and others from abandoning their homes.

“We just sat here with hope to survive,” he added.

And he’s not the only one. Shazia Bibi, another village resident, stays behind to guard her belongings for fear of thieves. Her children have left to stay with their relatives in safer areas.

“We fear the rising water, yet we cannot leave this house empty because it is our entire life’s earning,” Bibi told Arab News.

But staying in a village submerged is no easy task. Bibi has to contend with sleepless nights as insects swarm through the floodwater, biting her.

“There are snakes and other biting animals in the floodwater, and I feel scared and cannot sleep at night,” she said. “But what can we do?“

PROPERTY, CROPS BADLY HIT

River Sutlej has a capacity of 100,000 cusecs of water but flows on Thursday were recorded at 327,000 cusecs at Ganda Singh Wala. Pakistan says excess water released by Indian dams and heavy rains are to blame for the floods. Islamabad blames India, saying it did not inform Pakistan timely and released floodwaters to save itself.

India denies the claims, saying it released excess water due to heavy monsoon rains and had intimated Pakistan.

Kasur Deputy Commissioner Imran Ali said he received a telemessage from the National Disaster Management Authority

and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority on Aug. 26, warning him about the floods. The warning had been relayed by the Indian High Commission to the Pakistan High Commission, Ali said.

However, the deputy commissioner said Kasur was already facing floods from Aug. 20.

“So their call of readiness hardly mattered as we were already ready to face even very exceptionally high flood levels,” Ali said. “As you can see these troops, these departments, are on the field from Aug. 14.”

Ali said property and crops were badly hit by the floods, though the district has not reported any loss of lives. He said satellite tools such as AgriZoom and Google Maps were being used to assess agricultural damage once the water recedes, while Punjab’s communication teams were already surveying structural losses.

“So far, 76,640 people and 173,229 cattle have been rescued,” he added.

Muhammad Essa Khan, Kasur District Police Officer, said over 700 policemen, including women officers, are deployed across nine sub-sectors in a 22-kilometer stretch of the river Sutlej.

He said these cops were working day and night on rescue and relief operations.

“The rescue teams ensured presence in vulnerable villages, making announcements in mosques with the rescue staff and engaging local representatives to warn people about incoming floods and the need to evacuate,” Khan said.

The floods have hit Bibi and others like her where it hurts the most: their livelihoods.

“We do labor work, but here too the crops have drowned,” she said. “So now, there is no labor work left here. We are very worried.”