New York (TDI): Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has called on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to step up diplomatic efforts over the situation in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, particularly Israeli settlement expansion, settler violence and annexation policies.
Addressing the OIC Committee of Six on Palestine in New York on Monday, Dar said the Palestinian cause remained a central issue for the OIC and the wider Muslim world.
He said the committee had an important role in mobilizing political and diplomatic support for Palestinians and keeping international attention focused on their rights.
Dar described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as critical and the security environment across the occupied Palestinian territory as extremely fragile. He also said violations of the Gaza ceasefire were continuing on an almost daily basis despite recent diplomatic efforts to advance a broader process to end the conflict.
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The foreign minister welcomed the efforts of the United States, Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye in supporting implementation of the Gaza peace plan endorsed through UN Security Council Resolution 2803.
Turning to the West Bank, Dar said continued settlement construction, settler violence, annexation measures and forced displacement, including in East Jerusalem, were threatening the territorial continuity of the Palestinian territory and undermining prospects for a future Palestinian state.
He also condemned Israeli violations at Al-Aqsa Mosque and Al-Haram Al-Sharif, including incursions by extremist settlers. According to Dar, such actions violate international law, relevant UN resolutions and the established legal and historical status of the holy sites.
Dar called for coordinated diplomatic action by OIC members and outlined several priorities for the Committee of Six. These include protecting the existing legal and historical status quo at Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, opposing settlement expansion and annexation, and supporting the implementation of the Gaza peace plan and Security Council Resolution 2803.
He further stressed that reconstruction and governance arrangements in Gaza should remain Palestinian-led, with the Palestinian Authority playing a central role.
Dar also called for accountability for violations of international and humanitarian law and urged greater coordination among OIC members in international forums to protect Palestinian rights and uphold international law.
He said sustained international efforts were needed to advance a credible and time-bound political process leading to an independent and sovereign Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
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Pakistan, he added, would continue supporting Palestine’s full membership of the United Nations. “As members of the OIC Committee of Six, we have a particular responsibility to translate our collective solidarity into sustained and coordinated diplomatic efforts,” Dar said.
He reaffirmed Pakistan’s continued support for the Palestinian people and said Islamabad would work with partner countries towards what he described as a just and lasting resolution of the Palestine issue in accordance with international legitimacy.
