ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's Islamist political parties are playing up support for the Palestinian group Hamas in its war with Israel, aiming to tap into domestic public anger as the country prepares for elections early next year.
After Hamas militants triggered the latest round of the conflict by storming from Gaza into Israel and killing an estimated 1,200 people in early October, Pakistan's caretaker government adopted a relatively measured tone, urging restraint and the protection of civilians. As Israel's retaliation has killed more than 13,000 in Gaza, according to Hamas health officials, the Pakistani administration has hardened its rhetoric but not gone far beyond boilerplate condemnations of Israel, with which it has no diplomatic relations.
