ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is in Doha today, Monday, to attend the emergency Arab-Islamic summit being convened after Israel’s airstrikes on Qatar last week, saying the participation of Muslim leaders in the gathering reflected the unity of Muslim nations and their commitment to peace.
The summit is being held in a show of support for Qatar in the wake of the Sept. 9 Israeli attack targeting leaders of the Palestinian group Hamas who reside in the Gulf state. The strike, which Hamas says killed five of its members but not its leadership, has prompted US-allied Gulf Arab states to close ranks, adding to strains in ties between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, which normalized relations in 2020.
Leaders of Arab and Islamic states will warn that Israel’s attack on Qatar and other “hostile acts” threaten coexistence and efforts to normalize ties in the region, Reuters reported on Monday, based on a draft resolution to be put before the Arab-Islamic summit.
Pakistan has already “strongly condemned Israeli aggression against Qatar and other regional states.” On Sept. 11, Sharif had also visited Doha to express solidarity with Qatar, reaffirm Pakistan’s support for the Gulf state’s security and sovereignty and reiterate Islamabad’s commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East.
“The participation of the Prime Minister of Pakistan and other Muslim leaders in the emergency summit in Doha on September 15 is a manifestation of the Muslim Ummah’s strong unity and its unwavering resolve to establish regional peace,” Sharif’s office said in a statement.
An excerpt of the pre-summit draft resolution seen by Reuters said “the brutal Israeli attack on Qatar and the continuation of Israel’s hostile acts including genocide, ethnic cleansing, starvation, siege, and colonizing activities and expansion policies threatens prospects of peace and coexistence in the region.”
These actions threaten “everything that has been achieved on the path of normalizing ties with Israel including current agreements and future ones,” according to the draft, which was drawn up by foreign ministers meeting ahead of the summit.
Israel has been widely accused of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, including by the world’s biggest group of genocide scholars, during its nearly two-year military campaign in the Palestinian enclave that has killed more than 64,000 people, according to local authorities.
Hitting back at global condemnation of the attack on Doha, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has kept up pressure on Qatar over the presence of Hamas leaders on its soil, warning Doha on Wednesday to either expel Hamas officials or “bring them to justice, because if you don’t, we will.”
Netanyahu said on Saturday that getting rid of Hamas leaders living in Qatar would remove the main obstacle to releasing hostages still held by the group in Gaza and ending the war.
Qatar, a key mediator in the Gaza conflict, has accused Israel of sabotaging chances for peace and Netanyahu of practicing “state terrorism.” A member of Qatar’s internal security forces was among those killed.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on Sunday Israel’s actions would not stop Doha’s mediation efforts with Egypt and the United States.
With inputs from Reuters
