At OIC meeting, Pakistan calls for end to Israel’s terror campaign, setting up humanitarian corridor for Gaza

Celina Ali

Islamabad: Pakistan on Wednesday emphasised that Israel must bring an immediate end to its campaign of terror with an immediate ceasefire, and lifting the siege of Gaza. Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, who led the Pakistan delegation to the urgent open-ended Ministerial Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation held in Jeddah, also condemned Tuesday’s massacre of innocent civilians in the vicious Israeli attack on a hospital in Gaza.

The meeting was co-convened by Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to discuss the crisis in Gaza and the humanitarian situation of the besieged civilians there. In his statement, the Foreign Minister Jilani strongly denounced the Israeli aggression and inhumane blockade of Gaza that resulted in death, destruction and displacement.

He underscored that the Israeli occupation forces were in clear violation of international humanitarian and human rights law. Their indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity, he added. The foreign minister called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for its crimes. Foreign Minister Jilani emphasized that Israel must bring an immediate end to its campaign of terror with an immediate ceasefire, and rescinding forced evacuation of Palestinians from their homes.

He also underlined the urgency of humanitarian corridors for rapid, secure and unrestricted humanitarian and relief supplies to Gaza. Foreign Minister Jilani underlined that the root cause of the recent conflagration lay in the non-implementation of the two-state solution. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s solidarity and support for the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination.

He called for an early establishment of a viable, secure, contiguous and sovereign state of Palestine on the basis of the pre-June 1967 borders and with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Executive Committee adopted a Joint Communiqué outlining the collective stance of the Muslim Ummah on the situation in Gaza. On the sidelines, the foreign minister also held meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Gambia, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.