PM Shehbaz to attend Pakistan-co-sponsored Arab-Islamic Summit in Qatar on Monday

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will visit Qatar to participate in the Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit being held in Doha on September 15, the Foreign Office said on Saturday.

The summit, co-sponsored by Pakistan, has been convened in the wake of Israel’s airstrikes on Doha and the escalating developments in Palestine — following Israeli attempts to occupy Gaza, expand settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and forcibly displace the Palestinians.

Violating international laws and territorial integrity, Israel carried out multiple attacks into Qatar on Tuesday, killing six people five Hamas members, none of them top leaders, as well as a Qatari member of the security forces in his 20s. This unprovoked military aggression drew condemnation from different countries.

Meanwhile, the heads of states and governments and senior officials from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member Countries are expected to participate in the Doha summit, the FO said.

Arab, Muslim leaders to meet in Qatar to denounce Israeli attack

The summit, it said, will be preceded by the preparatory meeting of the foreign ministers on September 14. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar will participate in the preparatory session.

“Pakistan accords high importance to its relations with the State of Qatar and has strongly condemned Israeli aggression against Qatar and other regional states,” the FO said.

This will be PM Shehbaz’s second visit to Qatar in a span of one week, as the prime minister visited Doha on September 11 and met with Qatari leadership to express Pakistan’s unwavering support for the security and sovereignty of Qatar and its commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East.

UAE summons Israel envoy over ‘cowardly’ Qatar attack

The earlier visit came just two days after Israel claimed it had targeted Hamas leaders in Doha but the group said its top officials were not hurt.