ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Sunday called for a pan-Islamic response to Israeli military actions in the Middle East, the Pakistani foreign ministry said, as foreign ministers of Arab and Islamic nations gathered in Doha to forge a united front about an Israeli strike against Hamas leaders in Qatar’s capital.

The statement came after a meeting between Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, and OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha on the sidelines of a preparatory ministerial meeting of the emergency Arab-Islamic Summit in Doha in the aftermath of Israeli airstrike.

Leaders from Arab and Islamic nations are meeting in Doha to forge a united front about the Israeli attack, which 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 focused on Israel’s war on Gaza.

During their meeting, The Pakistani deputy PM and the OIC secretary-general condemned Israeli attacks on Qatar and other regional states as clear violations of their sovereignty and international law, according to the Pakistani foreign ministry.

“The DPM & the SG underscored the urgency for coordinating a unified pan-Islamic response to Israeli aggression in these challenging times,” the Pakistani ministry said in a statement.

Dar thanked Secretary-General Taha for steering the OIC’s constructive role in forging unity and solidarity within the Muslim world.

“They also reaffirmed their unwavering support for the Palestinian cause and stressed the need to advance regional peace and stability,” the foreign ministry added.

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.

In his address with Sunday’s preparatory ministerial meeting, the OIC secretary-general stressed that the blatant Israeli aggression against the sovereignty of Qatar, an active Member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the League of Arab States, constitutes a continuation of Israel’s “expansion of the circle of war, a destabilization of regional security and stability, and a persistent violation of international charters, laws, and resolutions,” according to an OIC statement.

“He further reiterated the necessity of redoubling efforts to hold Israel accountable for its violation of the sovereignty of the State of Qatar, and for committing crimes of genocide, settlement, and organized terrorism against the Palestinian people, and to support efforts aimed at implementing the resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly on ending Israeli aggression, occupation, and settlement, and on implementing the two-State solution,” the statement read.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani urged the international community to “stop using double standards” and punish Israel for what he described as its “crimes.”

“The time has come for the international community to stop using double standards and to punish Israel for all the crimes it has committed, and Israel needs to know that the ongoing war of extermination that our brotherly Palestinian people is being subjected to, and whose aim is to expel them from their land, will not work,” he said on the eve of the Arab-Islamic Summit.

The Israeli attack was widely condemned across the Arab and Islamic world as a violation of the international law and sovereignty of Qatar, which has been facilitating mediation efforts, including for a ceasefire in Gaza, together with Egypt and the United States.

The Arab-Islamic Summit is to discuss a draft statement regarding the Israeli attack on Qatar on Sept. 9, which targeted the residences of several Hamas officials in Doha, according to the Qatar News Agency.