ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar left for Saudi Arabia on Saturday to attend a meeting that will include his counterparts from the Muslim world.

The meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign ministers will be held in Riyadh today (Sunday).

This meeting will set the agenda for the second Arab-Islamic Summit, which will take place on Monday.

After his arrival, FM Dar performed Umrah and offered prayers at the Masjid-i-Nabwi.

Mr Dar will be part of the Pakistani delegation led by Prime Minister She­h­baz Sharif at the summit.

The PM will leave for Riyadh today to participate in the meeting.

The meeting will also be attended by Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told CNN Turk.

The meeting will discuss the situation in the Middle East, including the ongoing Israeli aggression against Palestine, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The summit will build on the discussion during the first Joint Arab-Islamic Extra­ordinary Summit, held in 2023, to address the situation in Gaza.

Last year’s summit led to critical emergency relief for the people of Gaza, international calls for ending the Israeli occupation and collective commitments among member states to support the Palestinian cause.

The PM will reiterate Pakistan’s stance for an immediate and unconditional end to the suffering in Gaza and a cessation of Israeli military actions that “threaten regional stability”, FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said earlier this week.

“Pakistan stands united with the people of Palestine in their struggle for sovereignty.”

“Pakistan firmly believes in the establishment of an independent Palestine on the borders of June 4, 1967, and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital”.

The PM is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with leaders from Arab League and OIC member states.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2024