Pakistan condemns killing of Al-Jazeera journalist in West Bank

Islamabad, May 12 Pakistan has condemned the killing of Al-Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied territory of West Bank, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said.

"The government and people of Pakistan extend deepest condolences to the family of Abu Akleh," the Foreign Ministry added in a statement on Wednesday evening.

The Israeli attempts to silence the voices of those who continue to expose the Israeli violations would not succeed, but rather reveal the continued brutality of occupation forces, the statement said.

Pakistan called upon the international community to take urgent action to end the Israeli occupation "which continues to fuel conflict, tension and instability in the region, and remains a matter of grave concern for the entire Muslim world," it added.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Abu Akleh was shot by the Israeli troops in the northern occupied West Bank on Wednesday morning while covering an Israeli military raid, and she died shortly after, Xinhua news agency reported.

"We reaffirm our consistent and unstinted support for the Palestinian people and the Palestinian cause, which has always been a defining principle of Pakistan's foreign policy," the Foreign Ministry said.