Key Points
- Pakistan has announced it has “completely banned all kinds of events regarding the New Year celebrations”.
- Sharjah, an emirate of the United Arab Emirates, also announced bans on New Year’s celebrations.
- Both declarations were made as expressions of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Pakistan has banned New Year’s Eve celebrations to show solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, the government said, urging people to instead “observe simplicity”.
In an evening televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said because of the situation in the Gaza Strip, the government had “completely banned all kinds of events regarding the New Year celebrations”.
Israel’s of Gaza, in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October attack on Israel, has left much of the territory’s north in ruins.
According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, more than 21,500 people have been killed in Gaza since 7 October. Israel says Hamas killed 1,200 people in its 7 October attack.
Kakar said New Year is usually a time of boisterous joy and celebration, but it has been overshadowed by the suffering of Palestinians.
He said Pakistan and the Muslim Ummah (community) were “deeply saddened” by the killing of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, “especially the massacre of innocent children”.
“New Year’s Eve is usually marked in boisterous fashion in Pakistan, with fireworks and aerial gunfire – as well as a bank holiday on January 1.”
Sharjah, an emirate of the United Arab Emirates, banned New Year’s Eve fireworks on Thursday over the war in Gaza.
The decision was announced in a Facebook post by Sharjah police, warning that legal measures would be taken against those found violating the ban.
The ban was “a sincere expression of solidarity and humanitarian cooperation with our siblings in the Gaza Strip”, police said in the post.
Sharjah is the UAE’s third-largest emirate by size and population behind Abu Dhabi and Dubai. There are seven emirates.
The UAE in a move that paved the way for other nations to build relations with Israel.
The Gulf regional power has repeatedly called for a humanitarian ceasefire in the war in Gaza, however, condemning Israel’s bombardment and invasion of the enclave.
It has also condemned Hamas for the 7 October attack that sparked the escalation in the conflict, and called for the release of hostages taken captive that day into Gaza by the Palestinian Islamist group.
Sharjah’s decision on New Year’s Eve fireworks appeared to be limited to that one emirate, as public celebrations continue to be advertised in the country’s other emirates.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on Thursday for global unity to make 2024 a year for “building trust and hope”.
“2023 has been a year of enormous suffering, violence, and climate chaos,” Guterres said in his New Year’s message.
Secretary-General António Guterres urged the world to make 2024 “a year of building trust and hope”. Source: AAP / Lev Radin/Sipa USA
“2023 is the hottest year on record; people are getting crushed by growing poverty and hunger; wars are growing in number and ferocity.”
“Humanity is strongest when we stand together. 2024 must be a year for rebuilding trust and restoring hope,” he said, noting that the UN would keep rallying for peace, sustainable development and human rights.
“Let’s resolve to make 2024 a year of building trust and hope in all that we can accomplish together.”
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