JEDDAH: Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to deepening ties with North African nations, including Algeria and Egypt, through enhanced connectivity and expanded cooperation across diverse fields.
The deputy premier made the remarks during a “meaningful interaction” with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty and Algerian FM Ahmed Attaf on the sidelines of 21st extraordinary session of the Council of Foreign Minister of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
In the meeting, they discussed the grave situation in Palestine, stressing the urgent need for humanitarian access, a ceasefire, and lasting peace. The FMs underscored the importance of unity within the Muslim Ummah in these challenging times.
Dar landed in Jeddah on a two-day official visit yesterday, where he spoke on Israel’s ongoing Gaza onslaught during the 21st extraordinary session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers.
DPM Dar on Monday reiterated Pakistan’s strong condemnation of Israel’s highly escalatory and dangerous statements over Palestinian land. He said the brazen audacity of the so-called Israeli cabinet, in unveiling its ominous plan to extend Israel’s full military control over Gaza, as well as the Israeli prime minister’s recent allusion to the creation of a “Greater Israel”, provided an insight into Israel’s annexationist and rogue mindset.
In his statement at the 21st Extraordinary Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) in Jeddah, DPM Dar reiterated Pakistan’s call for an immediate and effective ceasefire in Gaza.
He sought the flow of humanitarian aid, an end to forced displacement, illegal settlement expansion and annexation of Palestinian land, accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and the implementation of international and humanitarian laws.
He said the meeting was held again as Gaza bled, under systematic, premeditated and deliberate violations of international law, including international humanitarian law, UN Security Council resolutions and the judgment of the ICJ.
And all of this was being committed with impunity by Israel, he noted. “Gaza has become a graveyard for innocent lives as well as for international law, particularly International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Over 60,000 Palestinians — most of them women and children — have been killed in Israel’s brutal military assault,” he added.
He said the systematic targeting of hospitals, schools, UN facilities, aid convoys and refugee camps was not incidental; these were wanton acts of collective punishment in full view of the world.
“Gaza is enduring a full-scale humanitarian catastrophe. For nearly two years, it has suffered indiscriminate bombardment, total blockade and deliberate deprivation and starvation, while violence and dispossession escalate in the West Bank and Jerusalem,” he added.
Dar further said the so-called humanitarian system put in place by the occupying power was a cruel illusion, adding: “Famine is rampant. Civilians are being shot while trying to collect food. The hunger crisis in Gaza has reached unprecedented and deeply alarming levels.”
