ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar embarked on a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia on Thursday, where he is scheduled to attend an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah to discuss Israel’s recent measures in the occupied West Bank.

Israel decided this month to approve land registration procedures in parts of the West Bank for the first time since 1967, drawing sharp criticism from Muslim nations along with several European countries, which described it as a move to ease the path for settlement expansion and annexation.

These countries urged Israel in a joint statement to reverse its decision and end settler violence against Palestinian residents in the West Bank.

“Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar60 has departed Islamabad for Saudi Arabia to attend the Open-Ended Extraordinary Ministerial Session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (#OIC) Executive Committee in Jeddah (26–28 February 2026),” the foreign office said in a social media post on X.

“He will hold sideline meetings with counterparts from OIC Member States,” it continued. “During the visit, he will also undertake brief visits to the Holy Cities.”

More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements and outposts in the West Bank, excluding Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, alongside nearly three million Palestinians.

Settlements are considered illegal under international law, a position Israel disputes.

Addressing a weekly media briefing during the day, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said the OIC conference would review Israel’s attempt to impose its sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.

“In the ministerial session of this OIC event, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister will share Pakistan’s perspective on this latest illegal measure by Israel to convert areas of the occupied West Bank into the so-called state land,” he added.