AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): A conference titled “Al-Quds; Muslim World’s Identity and Credit” was held in Peshawar, Pakistan.
The Iranian Culture House in Peshawar organized the event in cooperation with a number of Pakistani bodies on the occasion of the International Quds Day.
It was attended by Iranian and Pakistani Shia and Sunni scholars, political, religious and cultural figures, as well as academic personalities.
Ali Banafshekhah, Iran’s consul general in Peshawar, was among those addressing the conference.
He hailed the recent developments in the region that have led to enhancement of unity among Muslim countries, including a thaw in the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
He expressed hope that differences among Muslim countries will further decline in the near future.
Banafshekhah also welcomed the rallies held in different parts of the world on the International Quds Day and said the people of the world have shown their support for the oppressed people of Palestine.
He underlined that the only way for resolving the issue of Palestine is holding a referendum after the release of all Palestinian prisoners and return of all Palestinian refugees to their motherland.
Qibla Ayaz, head of Pakistan’s Islamic Ideology Council, in his speech hailed the gathering of Shia and Sunni scholars for the sake of Al-Quds and said that has been made possible thanks to the efforts made by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
He also said the rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia will boost peace in the Muslim world, including in Yemen and Syria.
Other speakers at the conference described the holy city of al-Quds as the Muslim world’s red line and stressed that Muslim countries have the ability to decisively defend the oppressed people of Palestine.
They also said that Imam Khomeini’s insight turned Palestine from an Arab world issue into a Muslim world issue.
International Quds Day is among the legacies of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khomeini, who is revered as a spiritual leader by Muslims across the world. Back in 1979, shortly after leading an Islamic Revolution which toppled the US-backed Shah of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini named the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan the Quds Day.
The annual event is seen as an opportunity for freedom-seeking people across the world, regardless of faith, to voice their support for the Palestinian cause and vent their anger against the apartheid regime in Tel Aviv, which has occupied Palestinian territories since 1967.
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