Pakistan has banned New Year’s Eve celebrations to show solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, with the government urging people to instead “observe simplicity”. In a televised address, Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said that all New Year celebrations were banned. Mr. Kakar said, “The entire Pakistani nation and the Muslim Ummah were deeply saddened by the genocide of the oppressed Palestinians, especially the massacre of innocent children, in Gaza and the West Bank”.
