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In a powerful and emotional video message, artist and activist Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr has called out what he describes as Pakistan’s “very little” tangible support for the people of Gaza, as Israel continues to bomb and starve Palestinians.

Bhutto expressed dismay at what he described as the state’s “subdued response” to the issue and the broader public’s desensitisation to Palestinian suffering.

“People in Palestine are dying of hunger and thirst. This is a manmade famine,” he said a video shared to his Instagram account on Wednesday. “We are seeing people who were once fit, bodybuilders, people who used to be fat, people who used to be happy — they’re all like the walking dead now. Their bones are showing.”

The activist said he has been following Palestinians documenting life under siege on TikTok and described how the content — real, raw and filled with quiet despair — has made it impossible for him to look away.

While Bhutto acknowledged some official statements from Pakistan, he lamented the absence of meaningful action. “Aside from a few statements, Pakistan provided very little tangible support to Palestine,” he said. He also noted how sparsely attended a recent protest in support of Gaza was.

“No religious or civil organisations showed up. People here are bored and tired,” he said, referring to public apathy. “I believe that whatever happens in Palestine, we should show up like the same is happening in Pakistan.”

He also questioned why Pakistanis aren’t using their own language to speak up for the Palestinian cause. He said even the slogans used, such as “From the river to the sea,” were often in English or Arabic. “Very few Urdu naaras (chants) are used.”

For Bhutto, the linguistic disconnect reflects a deeper ideological and political silence. “The problem is that many Muslim countries, like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain, they abandoned Palestine. And the people we call kafir, they raised the issue of Palestine,” he said. “So, ‘From the river to the sea’ is in their language. So, why are we not standing up for Palestine in our own language? Because our sarkar (state) wants to recognise the sahiyooni riyasat (Zionist state),” he claimed.

Bhutto’s message comes at a time when the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached unimaginable levels. More than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023. Among the dead are thousands of children, and for those still living, basic survival is becoming increasingly impossible.

Dr James Smith, an emergency physician who volunteered in Gaza, told Al Jazeera, “Starvation is always something that is done by one person to another. It’s intended to be protracted and to maximise suffering.”

Food is no longer just scarce; it’s virtually non-existent. With Israeli forces continuing to restrict aid and targeting distribution centres, hunger has become a weapon of war. There is no food to buy even if you could afford it, locals have told Al Jazeera.

Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, recently urged the UN Security Council to intervene and stop Israel’s “brutal and illegal war” on Gaza. “These actions are not only morally indefensible; they constitute grave breaches of international law,” he said.

Yet, Bhutto believes there is a glaring gap between rhetoric and reality. And he is reminding Pakistanis that solidarity requires more than just online outrage or recycled slogans.

As the siege on Gaza intensifies and the international community grapples with moral paralysis, and Trump says it is “up to Israel” whether to occupy all of Gaza, Bhutto reminds us that silence, whether institutional or cultural, is a choice. And in the face of starvation, displacement, and death, it is also complicity.