ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar held separate meetings with the Saudi and UAE envoys to Islamabad on Monday, and called for Muslim nations to speak with a “united voice” against Israeli attacks in Gaza.
Israel has launched a war on Gaza since Oct. 7 after Hamas fighters rampaged through southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking some 240 hostages. Israel retaliated by enforcing a strict blockade of the enclave, and carrying out airstrikes and ground attacks that Palestinian officials say have killed around 13,000 people, including at least 5,500 children.
“The Prime Minister urged Muslim countries to speak with a united voice to urge the international community to end the violence and brutal murder of innocent civilians in Gaza at the hands of Israeli Occupation forces,” Kakar’s office said in a statement released after his meeting with Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi, UAE’s ambassador to Islamabad.
Pakistaan's Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar (left) meets UAE’s ambassador to Islamabad, Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi (second right) in Islamabad, Pakistan on November 21, 2023. (PID)
The envoy also presented a formal invitation to Kakar for the upcoming 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly referred to as COP28, to be held from November 30 to December 12 in Dubai.
“He said that Pakistan was one of the leading countries in climate change negotiations and the UAE was hopeful that Pakistan would play its part in ensuring the success of COP-28,” PMO said, quoting Al-Zaabi.
Separately, the PM met Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki and conveyed his “deep appreciation” for Saudi leaders for hosting the OIC Extraordinary Summit earlier this month to discuss the situation in Gaza.
“He lauded the role of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman in building historic consensus among Arab and Islamic countries,” PMO said.
“He reaffirmed Pakistan’s strong support to diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the violence in Gaza and stopping the brutality unleashed by Israel on innocent Palestinians.”
Kakar’s meeting with the Saudi envoy came as Arab and Muslim ministers called on Monday for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, as their delegation visited Beijing on the first leg of a tour to push for an end to hostilities and to allow humanitarian aid into the devastated Palestinian enclave.
