JEDDAH: Pakistan has urged the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to respond with urgency and resolve the ongoing crisis in Palestine, reaffirming the shared commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.
“The OIC must act with urgency and determination. We cannot remain bystanders. It is imperative to address and tackle the root cause to bring an end to the illegal Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories,” Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said while addressing the 21st Extraordinary session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Jeddah on Monday.
Deputy PM Dar said that Israel is committing deliberate violations of international law, including international humanitarian law, the UN Security Council resolutions with impunity.
Gaza a graveyard for innocent lives
Dar noted that Gaza has become a graveyard for innocent lives as well as for international law, particularly the International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Over 60,000 Palestinians – most of them women and children – have been killed in Israel’s brutal military assault.
“The systematic targeting of hospitals, schools, UN facilities, aid convoys, and refugee camps are not incidental; these are wanton acts of collective punishment in full worldview,” he said.
Ishaq Dar said Gaza is enduring a full-scale humanitarian catastrophe, adding that for nearly two years, it has suffered indiscriminate bombardment, total blockade, and deliberate deprivation and starvation while violence and dispossession escalate in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50 at the 21st Extraordinary session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers held today in Jeddah. pic.twitter.com/VGBKXzWS4h
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) August 25, 2025
Rogue mindset
The Deputy PM added the brazen audacity of the so-called Israeli Cabinet, in unveiling its ominous plan to extend Israel’s full military control over Gaza, as well as the Israeli Prime Minister’s recent allusion to the creation of a ‘Greater Israel’ provides an insight into Israel’s annexationist and rogue mindset.
“Pakistan strongly condemns these highly escalatory and dangerous statements, calling for actions that will further aggravate the prevailing grave humanitarian situation and suffering of the civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in addition to undermining international efforts aimed at achieving peace and stability in the region,” he said.
Ishaq Dar said the root cause of this ongoing tragedy is Israel’s prolonged, illegal occupation of Palestinian territory. “As long as this occupation endures, peace will remain elusive”, Ishaq Dar viewed.
The Deputy Prime Minister expressed deep appreciation of Pakistan to all the states and stakeholders that are playing a role in advancing peace in Gaza.
“Pakistan also welcomes the growing international momentum in support of the Palestinian statehood and full membership of the UN. We urge those states that have yet to recognize the State of Palestine to do so as soon as they can,” he said.
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) August 25, 2025
Liberation from Israeli occupation
Dar added that the Palestinian people do not seek statements of sympathy; they need concrete measures to end their suffering and secure their liberation from Israeli occupation.
“The OIC must rise to this challenge with unity, resolve, and purpose. Another Nakba cannot, and must not, be allowed to happen,” he said.
“The Palestinian question is a litmus test for the credibility of the so-called ‘rules-based order”. Failure to uphold the rights of the Palestinian people will embolden impunity and undermine the legitimacy of the very order we all claim to defend and uphold,” Ishq Dar said.
Permanent ceasefire across Gaza
He called for an immediate, permanent, and unconditional ceasefire across Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, with full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2735.
The Deputy Prime Minister said unfettered, sustained, and secure humanitarian access to all civilians in need must be ensured in Gaza, along with the protection of aid workers, medical teams, and UN personnel.
End to forced displacement
He also called for an end to forced displacement, illegal settlement expansion, and annexation of Palestinian land, particularly in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Pakistan’s top diplomat, expressing his views, said that the Arab and OIC-led reconstruction plan for Gaza must be implemented.
“Israel must not be allowed to act with impunity in defiance of the UN Charter, international law, including international humanitarian law, and the binding measures of the International Court of Justice, he noted.
Statement delivered by Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50 at the 21st Extraordinary session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers held today in Jeddah. pic.twitter.com/PyMRMFLdos
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) August 25, 2025
Desecration of Al Aqsa Mosque
He categorically stated that any desecration of Al Aqsa Mosque is an intolerable provocation. “The incursions by Israeli officials into Al-Quds Al-Sharif are a deliberate assault on Muslim settlements, a blatant violation of international law, and a direct challenge to the collective conscience of the Muslim Ummah,” he said.
He noted the primary responsibility for ensuring global peace and security lies with the UN Security Council.
“Palestine is a priority for Pakistan. As a non-permanent member of the UNSC, Pakistan will continue to work with the OIC and Arab partners to mobilise global support for the Palestinian right to self-determination, justice and peace,” Dar said.
On the occasion, the Deputy PM also thanked the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al and Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz, for their continued support to the OIC and its endeavors for resolving the challenges facing the Ummah.
