Islamabad (TDI): Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar departed Islamabad on Thursday for Saudi Arabia to participate in the Open-Ended Extraordinary Ministerial Session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Executive Committee in Jeddah, scheduled from February 26 to 28, the Foreign Office announced on X.
During the visit, Dar is expected to hold sideline meetings with counterparts from OIC member states and will make brief visits to the Holy Cities, according to the official post.
The session will focus particularly on recent Israeli decisions to declare certain lands in the occupied West Bank as its property. The OIC members are likely to issue a strong condemnation of these actions.
Earlier this month, on February 22, foreign ministers from Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, Indonesia, Kuwait, Oman, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine, along with the OIC, the League of Arab States, and the Gulf Cooperation Council, released a joint statement expressing “profound concern” over remarks made by Mike Huckabee suggesting he would not oppose Tel Aviv’s expansion in the region.
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The ministers said his comments contradicted the vision of US President Donald Trump and the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, which aims to contain escalation and create a political path toward Palestinian statehood.
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On Teusday, Dar, alongside Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defense Forces Asim Munir, met with the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in Doha. The discussions covered bilateral cooperation as well as regional developments, including tensions involving Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Iran-US standoff, and ongoing efforts toward a Gaza peace plan.
