ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, will be attending an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) today, Friday, to discuss the situation in Palestine, according to the Pakistani foreign office.
US President Donald Trump announced a plan to permanently uproot more than 2 million Palestinians from Gaza after assuming office, saying his country would turn the area into an international beach resort.
The plan was widely denounced by majority-Muslim nations and global rights organizations as the US president suggested that the Palestinian population could relocate to neighboring Egypt and Jordan.
Dar will discuss the deteriorating situation in Palestine, the ensuing humanitarian crisis, and the “illegal and immoral” proposals for the displacement of Palestinians at the OIC meeting in Jeddah, according to Pakistan’s foreign office.
“The DPM/FM will reaffirm Pakistan’s unwavering support for the Palestinian people and their just cause,” the foreign office said on X.
In a post on X, the OIC said the meeting underscores the firm rejection of policies of displacement, annexation, aggression and destruction, while reaffirming that the Palestinian cause remains the central issue of the Islamic world.
The meeting comes days after Arab leaders adopted an Egyptian reconstruction plan for Gaza worth $53 billion, which seeks to avoid Palestinian displacement in contrast to Trump’s “Middle East Riviera” vision.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said on Tuesday Egypt, in cooperation with Palestinians, had worked on creating an administrative committee of independent, professional Palestinian technocrats to govern Gaza after the Israel-Gaza war ends.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the Arab League’s approval of the Egyptian plan, urging the United Nations to ensure the implementation of its resolutions calling for a two-state solution in the Middle East.
Islamabad does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters.”
Pakistani state media reported that Dar would advocate for Israel’s full withdrawal from all occupied territories, including Jerusalem, at the OIC meeting.
Pakistan deputy PM to attend today OIC’s extraordinary meeting on Palestine
https://arab.news/mh84m
Pakistan deputy PM to attend today OIC’s extraordinary meeting on Palestine
- Shortly after assuming office, US President Trump had announced a plan to permanently uproot more than 2 million Palestinian people from Gaza
- The OIC says its meeting underscores firm rejection of displacement policies, reaffirming the Palestinian cause remains central to the Muslim world
Pakistan military warns it will not tolerate any ‘malicious interest, political or otherwise’
- Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir chairs 273rd Corps Commanders Conference in Rawalpindi
- Statement follows recently increased tensions between former PM Imran Khan and Pakistan’s military
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top military brass warned on Wednesday it would not tolerate any “malicious interest, political or otherwise,” that undermines national unity and security, the military’s media wing said on Wednesday.
The statement was released by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) after Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir chaired the 273rd Corps Commanders Conference (CC) at the General Headquarters of the military in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan’s powerful military has been at loggerheads with former prime minister Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party recently. Earlier this month, Pakistan military’s spokesperson warned during a hard-hitting press conference that Khan’s frequent criticism of the armed forces was becoming a “national security threat,” warning of a severe response.
“The Forum categorically rejected the nexus between terrorism, crime, and vested political interests,” the ISPR said in a statement.
“It resolved that no malicious interest, political or otherwise, aimed at undermining national unity, security and stability would be tolerated, nor would anyone be allowed to create divisions between the Armed Forces and the people of Pakistan.”
The CCC also reviewed Pakistan’s prevailing internal and external security environment, with particular emphasis on evolving threats and operational preparedness, the military’s media wing said.
The commanders paid tribute to the armed forces for conducting several intelligence-based counter-terrorism operations across the country in recent months.
“The participants reaffirmed that all terrorists under the tutelage of Indian sponsors, along with their facilitators and abettors, would be dealt with decisively and without exception,” the statement said.
Pakistan accuses India of supporting militant attacks in its territory, a charge that New Delhi denies.
Khan, who is in jail since August 2023 on charges that he says are politically motivated, has criticized the military since he was ousted from the prime minister’s office via a parliamentary vote in April 2022. Khan blames the military for colluding with his political rivals to orchestrate his ouster, a charge the army denies.
The former prime minister alleges he is being denied basic rights at the prison in Rawalpindi where he is incarcerated at the behest of the military and the government.
Both deny the allegations, with the military specifically saying it does not interfere in political matters.
