ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, will travel to Saudi Arabia to attend an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah on Aug. 25-26, the Pakistani foreign ministry said on Sunday.

The statement comes as Israeli leaders vow to press on with a planned offensive in Gaza, with Israeli planes and tanks pounding the eastern and northern outskirts of Gaza City overnight Saturday to Sunday.

Israel approved a plan this month to seize control of Gaza City, describing it as Hamas’ last bastion. It is not expected to begin for a few weeks, leaving room for mediators Egypt and Qatar to try and resume ceasefire talks between the sides.

Dar, who is currently in Dhaka on a most high-profile visit by any Pakistani official to Bangladesh in recent years, will travel directly to Jeddah to attend the extraordinary session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers.

“The high-level meeting will bring together foreign ministers and senior officials from OIC member states to deliberate upon coordinated responses to the escalating developments in Palestine, resulting from ongoing

Israeli military aggression, its proposed plans for full military control over Gaza and the continued egregious violations of Palestinians’ rights,” the Pakistani foreign office said.

Headquartered in Jeddah, the OIC is the second-largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations, with a membership of 57 states across four continents. It serves as a collective voice of the Muslim world to ensure and safeguard their interests in economic, social, and political spheres. 

Pakistan, which does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, has consistently condemned Israel’s war on Gaza that has killed at least 62,000 Palestinians since Oct. 2023, left much of the territory in ruins and internally displaced nearly its entire population.

Dar will reaffirm Pakistan’s unwavering support for Palestine and reiterate its principled stance at the OIC meeting, according to the Pakistani foreign office.

“The DPM/FM will advocate for total withdrawal of Israel from all the Occupied Palestinian Territories; reject the outrageous Israeli plan for extending full military control over Gaza and further displacement of Palestinians; emphasize the urgent need of unhindered humanitarian assistance; and call for the restoration of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people — most notably, the establishment of an independent, contiguous, and sovereign Palestinian state based on pre-June 1967 borders,” it said.

“​On the sidelines of the OIC-CFM, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister is expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from key OIC member states.”