In the shadow of missiles streaking across skies and cities shuddering beneath explosions, a new voice of solidarity is rising from South Asia. As the Israel-Iran conflict ignites flames across the Middle East, Pakistan has stepped forward with a bold and impassioned call — for Muslim unity, for resistance, and for the defense of sovereignty.
Whether Pakistan’s call will succeed in the face of the deep sectarian division between Saudi Arabia and Iran remains to be seen.
Standing before Pakistan’s National Assembly, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif issued a clarion call that echoed far beyond the halls of Parliament. “We stand with Iran and will support them at every international forum to protect their interests,” he declared. “Israel has targeted Iran, Yemen, and Palestine. If Muslim nations don’t unite now, each one of them will face the same fate.”
His words were not just a show of support, but a strategic appeal — a plea for a collective response to what he described as a pattern of aggression. Calling on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to convene an emergency session, Asif urged Muslim nations to sever all diplomatic ties with Israel and forge a united front.
“Now is the time,” he said gravely, “for unity, or for silence in the face of our own unraveling.”
A Regional Inferno
The latest flare-up in the long-standing Israeli-Iranian rivalry came after a devastating Israeli airstrike targeted Iranian nuclear facilities and military leaders, including senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In response, Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles toward Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Fires raged in high-rise buildings, sirens howled, and fear returned to streets that had only recently tasted calm.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a televised address, called the Israeli attack an “initiation of war” and vowed that Tehran’s retaliation would be “decisive and unforgettable.” “The Zionist regime will not remain unscathed,” he warned.
As missiles traded paths between nations, the region teetered on the brink of wider war.
Pakistan’s Stand
Pakistan’s pivot toward solidarity with Iran marks a significant realignment in regional diplomacy. For decades, Islamabad has maintained a delicate balancing act in the Middle East. But in this moment of crisis, its stance has become unambiguous.
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar described the Israeli strike as “a brazen violation of Iran’s sovereignty,” echoing outrage felt across much of the Islamic world.
Demonstrations broke out in Skardu, in the remote and mountainous region of Gilgit-Baltistan, where hundreds chanted slogans against Israeli aggression and waved Iranian flags in a powerful show of cross-border empathy.
For Pakistan, the call for unity is also personal — a 750-kilometer border with Iran makes it a frontline observer to the fallout. A destabilized Iran would have immediate implications for Pakistan’s own national security and border integrity.
‘The Gates of Hell Will Open’
Iran’s military response has been equally resolute. Its elite IRGC claimed responsibility for launching “waves of missiles” into Israeli territory and claimed to have downed at least one Israeli F-35 jet — a claim Israel has denied.
The violence, however, has extracted a grim toll. At least 78 Iranians, including women and children, were killed in the initial Israeli strikes, and over 300 injured. In retaliation, Iran’s missiles struck Tel Aviv, igniting residential buildings and leaving dozens wounded.
General Mohammed Pakpour, newly appointed after the death of IRGC chief Hossein Salami in the Israeli raid, issued a chilling promise to Israel: “The gates of hell will open.”
Global Anxiety, Regional Reckoning
As the crisis deepens, other regional powers are sounding alarms. Egypt’s Foreign Minister warned that Israel’s actions could plunge the region into “instability and chaos.” The United States has confirmed it assisted Israel in intercepting some of the Iranian missiles, a move likely to further enrage Tehran and its allies.
But amid the uncertainty, Pakistan’s message stands out — not as a call to war, but as a demand for dignity.
“We are not calling for conflict,” Khawaja Asif clarified in a press briefing. “We are calling for courage. The courage to speak against injustice. The courage to stand with our brothers. And the courage to reject a world where might makes right.”
A Crossroads for the Muslim World
As the Middle East burns, the question reverberating from Islamabad to Istanbul, from Cairo to Kuala Lumpur, is whether this moment will unify or further divide the Muslim world. Will leaders heed Pakistan’s call to cut ties with Israel and craft a joint response? Or will this chapter, like many before it, pass without resolve?
In these uncertain hours, one thing is clear: a new page in the region’s history is being written — not just in the smoke rising above Tel Aviv or the shattered buildings of Tehran, but in the words echoing from Pakistan’s Parliament.
And in those words lies both a warning — and a hope.
