ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday slammed this week’s Israeli airstrike against Hamas leaders in Qatar’s capital of Doha, calling for an Arab-Islamic task force to counter Israeli expansionist designs in the Middle East.
The statement by Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, came at a preparatory ministerial meeting of the emergency Arab-Islamic Summit in Doha in the aftermath of Israeli airstrike that killed at least six people on Tuesday.
The Doha attack appears to have ended attempts to secure an Israel-Hamas ceasefire and the release of hostages ahead of the upcoming United Nations (UN) General Assembly session, at which the Gaza war is expected to be a primary focus.
Foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic nations met in Doha to forge a united front about the Israeli attack ahead of a summit in Qatar on Monday that will bring together leaders from their nations for top-level talks.
“Israel must be held accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity. It should not be allowed to get away with attacking Islamic countries and killing people with impunity,” Dar said at Sunday’s ministerial meeting, calling for the “creation of an Arab-Islamic task force to monitor the Israeli designs in the region and adopt effective deterrent and offensive measures in a synchronized manner to ward off Israeli expansionist designs.”
Israeli leaders have lately made pronouncements to expand settlement building in the occupied West Bank to “bury the idea of a Palestinian state,” with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying he felt “very much” connected to the vision of “Greater Israel” and describing it as a “historic and spiritual mission.”
The comments have triggered widespread outrage across the Arab and Muslim world and have been denounced by several nations, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Pakistan as well as the Palestinian Authority.
Dar said the question of Israeli accountability is a test for the credibility of the global system.
“The Israeli strike against a sovereign state that has been actively partaking in the ongoing mediation efforts along with the US and Egypt, to reach a ceasefire in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is unwarranted, unjustified, and appalling,” he said in a statement shared by the Pakistani foreign ministry.
“It also exposes Israel’s rogue mindset that disregards every tenet of global law and norms. Israel’s actions reek of an unabashed aggressor that is hell bent on achieving its heinous objectives and is unbothered if that pursuit topples the entire edifice of international order. No state is safe from such an unhinged entity that defies all precepts of civilized behavior.”
Pakistan has repeatedly condemned Israel’s offensive in Gaza, which has killed nearly 65,000 people, mostly women and children, since October 2023, and called for an immediate ceasefire and war-crimes accountability.
The South Asian country does not have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for a two-state solution to resolve the Middle East crisis. Islamabad supports an independent Palestinian state as per the aspirations of the Palestinian people, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital and according to the pre-1967 borders.
Speaking at Sunday’s meeting, Dar voiced Pakistan’s solidarity and support for Qatar’s “inalienable right to take all necessary measures, in accordance with the UN Charter, to defend their sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the safety of all persons within their territory.”
“Pakistan commends Qatar’s important and constructive role in facilitating mediation efforts, including for a ceasefire, which has been widely and consistently appreciated by the world, together with the role of Egypt and the US,” he said.
“We recognize Qatar’s tireless and principled engagement with all parties, often under the most challenging circumstances, to keep the channels of dialogue open and advance prospects of peace. Targeting Qatar is thus not only an attack on a sovereign state, but also an attack on diplomacy and mediation itself.”
Separately, Dar met his counterparts from Malaysia, Bangladesh and Iran, who condemned Israeli strikes on Qatar and other Muslim nations as gross violations of sovereignty and international law, according to the Pakistani foreign ministry.
“They reaffirmed unwavering support for the Palestinian cause and emphasized the vital importance of unity across the Muslim Ummah. They welcomed the Arab Islamic Summit as timely and essential for collective action at this critical juncture,” it said.
