Gaza: Muslim states seek coordination

Dar meets regional counterparts on fringes of UNGA Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar chairs a meeting to review wheat stocks in the country on Thursday. Photo: X Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his counterparts from Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Egypt on Tuesday expressed full support for efforts aimed at peacefully resolving the latest regional situation, while calling for stronger diplomatic coordination to protect Palestinians. Dar participated in a ministerial meeting of the Regional-4 (R-4) group on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where the ministers discussed regional developments and exchanged views on the latest situation. According to the Foreign Office, the ministers expressed "full support" for efforts aimed at a peaceful resolution of the situation. Dar reaffirmed Pakistan's strong commitment to the R-4 framework and stressed the need for continued engagement to enhance regional peace and prosperity. The ministers also reiterated their support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including their inalienable right to self-determination. They backed the establishment of an independent, sovereign, viable and contiguous State of Palestine. Earlier, Dar, addressing the OIC Committee of Six on Palestine on the sidelines of the UNGA, urged stronger coordination among OIC member states at the United Nations and other international forums to protect Palestinians and uphold international law. He said the Committee of Six had an important responsibility to mobilise political and diplomatic support for Palestinians and ensure that the international community did not lose sight of their legitimate and human rights. "The humanitarian situation remains dire, and the security environment is extremely fragile," Dar said, while welcoming efforts by the United States, Qatar and Turkiye to advance implementation of the comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict. Meanwhile, foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) expressed deep concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in a joint statement issued after their September 21 meeting in New York. The ministers urged Israel to fulfil its Phase One commitments by ensuring unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid, supporting early recovery and rehabilitating critical infrastructure. They stressed the imperative of preserving the ceasefire and ending all violations. The ministers categorically rejected measures aimed at expelling or forcibly displacing Palestinians from their homeland. They also rejected attempts to alter the territorial or demographic character of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The ministers deplored the Israeli measures take against the Palestinians, including expansion of Jewish settlements, confiscation of Palestinian lands, demolition of Palestinian homes, settler violence and forced displacement. The ministers reaffirmed that Gaza must remain an integral part of Palestinian territory and called for a credible and irreversible pathway towards Palestinian self-determination and the establishment of a sovereign, viable and independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Separately, Dar held a bilateral meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in New York in which both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen bilateral cooperation under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement. (WITH INPUT FROM APP)