Pakistan Deputy PM arrives in Turkiye to attend D-8 meeting on Gaza situation

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has arrived in Turkiye to attend an extraordinary meeting of the D-8 Council of Foreign Ministers that aims to present a united front against Israel’s war on Gaza, Pakistani state media reported on Saturday.
Established since 1997, the Developing Eight Organization for Economic Cooperation, also known as D-8, is an organization for development cooperation among Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkiye.
The organization aims to improve member states’ position in the global economy, diversify and create new opportunities in trade relations, improve standards of living, and enhance participation in decision-making at international level.
Upon arrival in Istanbul, Deputy PM Dar was received by Deputy Governor of Istanbul Mustafa Asim Alkan and Pakistan’s Ambassador to Turkiye Yousaf Junaid, the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“The D-8 Foreign Ministers will deliberate upon the shared responsibility of the international community to bring an urgent and unconditional ceasefire, and an end to the inhumane and unjustified war on the people of Gaza,” the report read.
The war on Gaza broke out after Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, which killed more than 1,100 people, in response to the deteriorating condition of the Palestinian people living under Israeli occupation.
Israel launched a retaliatory offensive, widely viewed as disproportionate, in which more than 35,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have lost their lives, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
The D-8 member countries are expected to adopt a strong joint declaration regarding the developments in Gaza, according to Radio Pakistan. Deputy PM Dar will present Pakistan’s stance at the meeting.
Pakistan does not recognize the state of Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
In recent months, the South Asian country has repeatedly raised the issue of Israel’s war on Gaza at the United Nations and demanded the world stop Israeli military actions in the Palestinian territory.