ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week met Qatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, condemning Israel’s airstrikes in Doha and calling for unity among Muslim nations in the face of increasing tensions in the Middle East. 

Sharif arrived in Doha on Monday to attend the emergency Arab-Islamic summit organized after Israel targeted Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital on Sept. 9. The strike, which Hamas says killed five of its members but not its leadership, prompted Arab Gulf states to forge a united front against the Israeli attack at the summit. 

The Pakistani prime minister met Al-Thani on the sidelines of the summit on Monday, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement. He was accompanied by Deputy PM Ishaq Dar and Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.

“The Prime Minister stressed that Israel’s aggression in the Middle East must be stopped immediately, and unity within the Ummah was vitally important, in the face of repeated Israeli provocations,” the PMO said.

Sharif expressed solidarity with Qatar, describing Israel’s attack as a “flagrant violation” of the Gulf nation’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. 

“His Highness the Emir expressed appreciation for the Prime Minister’s participation in the Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit as well as for his visit to Doha on September 12 to express solidarity with Qatar at this difficult time,” Sharif’s office said. 

It added that both leaders agreed to remain in close contact in view of the unfolding situation in the region.

ARAB-ISLAMIC TASK FORCE

At the summit, Sharif called for the creation of an Arab-Islamic task force to keep Israel’s “expansionist designs” in the Middle East in check, demanding the United Nations suspend the Jewish state’s membership of the global body.

“Pakistan reiterates following essential and urgent steps that Israel must be held accountable for its war crimes against humanity, creation of an Arab Islamic task force to adopt effective measures toward Israeli expansionist designs,” Sharif said.

“We reiterate the OIC’s call to suspend Israel’s membership of the United Nations,” he said, adding that member states should actively consider implementing other appropriate measures against Israel.

Sharif also criticized Israel for its military offensives in Gaza. Since the start of the war in October 2023, Pakistan has repeatedly condemned the offensive that has killed nearly 65,000 people, mostly women and children, and called for accountability of Israel’s “war crimes.”