Pakistan welcomes OIC emergency meeting on Jerusalem and Gaza

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday welcomed the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s decision to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the situation in Jerusalem and Gaza on Saudi Arabia’s request.

Talking to Arab News, the country’s foreign office spokesperson highlighted the gravity of the situation and urged all Muslim countries to express solidarity with the people of Palestine.

“Pakistan welcomes this special OIC ministerial meeting on the Palestine issue,” said Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri. “We think that not only the OIC should take initiative on this issue but a special session of the United Nations General Assembly should also be summoned to address it.”

He maintained that Pakistani authorities were deeply concerned about the ongoing developments in the occupied Palestinian territories, adding that Prime Minister Imran Khan had taken up the issue with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Turkey. 

“We think that the whole Muslim world should stand united on it,” Chaudhri continued. 

The meeting of foreign ministers of OIC member nations will take place on Sunday and address continuing Israeli attacks on Palestine which have escalated since the beginning of the week. 

Israeli troops were massing at the Gaza border on Thursday, while Hamas hit Israel with rockets in intense hostilities that have caused international concern and touched off clashes between Jews and Arabs in Israel. 

As fears grow that violence could spiral out of control into a full-blown war, the US announced Wednesday it was sending its envoy Hady Amr to the region. 

President Joe Biden said that the US was in contact with Saudi Arabia and Egypt to deescalate the situation in Gaza. 

Egypt, Tunisia and other countries in the region could play a short-term role in deescalating the current conflict, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday.