Ishaq Dar arrives in Saudi Arabia to attend OIC meeting

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday on an official visit.

According to media reports, Dar is scheduled to participate in the upcoming session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, where he will also address the gathering.

Earlier, a Foreign Office Spokesperson said that the “high-level meeting will bring together foreign ministers and senior officials from OIC member states to deliberate upon coordinated responses to the escalating developments in Palestine, resulting from ongoing Israeli military aggression, its proposed plans for full military control over Gaza and the continued egregious violations of Palestinians’ rights”.

As a steadfast advocate for the Palestinian cause, the spokesperson said that Pakistan consistently highlighted the issue at international fora.

During the forthcoming extraordinary OIC-CFM session, Dar will reaffirm Pakistan’s unwavering support for Palestine and reiterate its principled stance.

The DPM/FM will advocate for total withdrawal of Israel from all the Occupied Palestinian Territories; reject the outrageous Israeli plan for extending full military control over Gaza and further displacement of Palestinians; emphasize the urgent need of unhindered humanitarian assistance; and call for the restoration of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people — most notably, the establishment of an independent, contiguous, and sovereign Palestinian state based on pre-June 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as the capital, the spokesperson said in a statement.

On the sidelines of the OIC-CFM, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister is expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from key OIC member states, it added.