Extraordinary OIC FMs’ moot in Jeddah on March 7: Dar reaffirms Pakistan’s support to Palestinian cause

NEW YORK: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar on Thursday said that an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of OIC countries will convene in Jeddah on March 7, 2025 to discuss the Gaza situation, particularly in light of the proposals on relocation of the Palestinian people.

The Deputy Prime Minister, addressing a news conference on the culmination of his three-day visit to the US, apprised the media of his telephonic interactions with his counterparts from Iran, Egypt, Malaysia, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, following the proposals for the displacement of Gaza people to Egypt or Jordan and later by Israel to set up a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia.

He said during the interactions, all the foreign ministers called for an extraordinary OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in early March.

He said reportedly, Arab leaders were scheduled to meet on the situation on February 27 and Gulf leaders on March 5 which would follow the extraordinary CFM meeting on March 7 in Jeddah in which he would represent Pakistan.

DPM Dar, who was on a US visit to attend the UN Security Council’s debate on multilateralism and global governance, told the media that before the said consultations, Pakistan had also issued a strong statement on the proposals on relocation as the people of Palestine had all the rights on their land.

He recalled Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s address at the last year’s UN General Assembly session where he took a “bold and clear stance and also called a spade a spade” besides holding Israel responsible for the killing of around 50,000 Palestinian people and the destruction of infrastructure.

He said despite limited resources, Pakistan sent several consignments of relief goods to Gaza, Lebanon and Syria and also hosted around 200 Palestinian medical students to allow them to complete their medical education in Pakistani medical colleges.

Apprising the media of his interactions on the margins of the UN Security Council’s debate, he mentioned the meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Saudi and Hungarian counterparts. During the interactions, he raised the Kashmir issue as well as the illegal and unilateral actions India took in the disputed territory.

DPM Dar who also interacted with the members of the Pakistani diaspora, said that Pakistan always played its role by forcefully presenting its stance on Kashmir and Palestine issues.

To a question, Dar said that time and again, Pakistan had asked the Afghan interim government to act against TTP enjoying sanctuaries in Afghanistan. It was also conveyed that the investigations into the attacks on Chinese nationals in Karachi and Bisham also revealed that they were planned and financed from Afghanistan.