ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will lead the country’s delegation to attend the 14th Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Summit in Makkah on 31 May.
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz has invited 57 members of the OIC to attend the current summit, which will be the fourth such session to be held in the holy city of Makkah.
The two-day summit is expected to discuss an array of key issues confronting the Muslim world, mulling over ways to forge unity within the Muslim Ummah, especially given the rising tensions in the Arabian Gulf.
Prime Minister Khan is also expected to meet leaders of the Muslim world on the sidelines of the summit.
Senator Sehar Kamran, member of Pakistan’s upper house of the parliament, lauded the Kingdom’s leading role and commended the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman for hosting the OIC summit.
“The upcoming 14th session of Islamic Summit in Makkah is taking place in critical times …. in these testing times, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia can play a vital role in forging harmony and unity within the Muslim Ummah and lead the Muslim countries to confront the growing threat of terrorism and militancy in the region,” Kamran told Arab News.
She said the “recent wave of Missile attacks in Saudi Arabia, specifically the evil designs to target the holy sites, has developed serious concerns across the Muslim Ummah. I hope the Islamic Summit will be instrumental in identifying and containing evil conspiracies.”
Rizwan Ul Haq Mahmood, Pakistan’s former consul general in Jeddah, said that Saudi Arabia is “undoubtedly the political leader of the Islamic world” and has always made “strenuous efforts to bridge the gulf between Islamic countries.”
“Saudi Arabia’s effort is again aimed at reviving the unity of thought among Muslim states and ensure a unanimous stand in thorny issues confronted by the Ummah.”
Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, chairman of the All Pakistan Ulema Council, said that OIC summit in Makkah is of key importance as the entire Muslim world has pinned high hopes with its outcome.
“Saudi role and its services for the Islamic world cannot be ignored. The decision of Khadim-e-Harmain Al-Sharifain [Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques] King Salman bin Abdulaziz to invite leadership of Muslim countries and Muslim Ulema and scholars on the night of 27th Ramadan is a positive sign to seek solution for the prevailing challenges confronting the Muslim world,” said Ashrafi.
Founded in 1969, the OIC is the second largest intergovernmental organization after the UN with 57 member states from four continents. It represents the Islamic world and seeks to protect its interests.
Pakistan pins high hopes on OIC summit
Pakistan pins high hopes on OIC summit
- King Salman has invited 57 members to the 14th OIC summit in Makkah
- Makkah summits reflect vital Saudi role in forging unity within Muslim Ummah, Pakistani lawmaker says
Security forces kill 11 militants in separate operations in Pakistan’s northwest
- Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan
- Militant groups such as the Pakistani Taliban frequently target convoys of security forces, police and government officials
ISLAMABAD: Security forces gunned down 11 Pakistani Taliban militants in separate operations in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the Pakistani military said on Saturday, amid a surge in militancy in the South Asian country.
The first intelligence-based operation was conducted in North Waziristan district, which borders Afghanistan, during which six militants were killed, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
Another joint intelligence-based operation by police and security forces was conducted in the Kurram district, which led to the killing of five other Pakistani Taliban militants in a fire exchange.
“Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from killed Indian-sponsored khwarij (militants), who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities,” the ISPR said in a statement.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored kharja (militant) found in the area.”
There was no immediate comment by New Delhi to the Pakistani military statement.
Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in KP in recent years. Militant groups such as the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have frequently targeted convoys of security forces, police stations and check-posts besides kidnapping government officials in the region.
Last year, the South Asian country saw 73 percent increase in combat-related deaths, with both security forces and militants suffering casualties in large numbers.
As per statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), combat-related deaths in 2025 rose 73 percent to 3,387, compared with 1,950 in 2024. These deaths included 2,115 militants, 664 security forces personnel, 580 civilians and 28 members of pro-government peace committees (combatants), the think tank said in a press release.
Islamabad has frequently accused Afghanistan of allowing its soil and India of backing militant groups, including the TTP, for attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi have consistently denied this.
