DOHA: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday landed in Qatar to participate in the Emergency Arab-Islamic summit being held in Doha. Qatar’s Minister of Culture, Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Hamad bin Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, welcomed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif upon his arrival in Doha.
The summit, co-sponsored by Pakistan, has been convened in the wake of Israel’s airstrikes on Doha and the escalating developments in Palestine following Israeli attempts to occupy Gaza, expand settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and forcibly displace the Palestinians.
The Arab-Islamic summit is likely to be attended by heads of state, governments and senior officials from the OIC member countries.
PM Shehbaz is accompanied by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, and Special Assistant to the PM Tariq Fatemi.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is already in Doha and attended the preparatory meeting of the foreign ministers.
Following Israel’s airstrikes on Doha, Prime Minister Shehbaz had also visited Doha on September 11, 2025, as a gesture of solidarity and regional unity, and met with the Qatari leadership to express Pakistan’s unwavering support for the security and sovereignty of Qatar and its commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East.
On the sidelines of the preparatory Foreign Ministers’ meeting, Ishaq Dar met his Egyptian counterpart Dr Badr Abdelatty, Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, Turkish FM Hakan Fidan, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Dato’ Seri Mohamad Hasan, Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain, Uzbekistan’s FM Bakhtiyor Saidov and OIC Secretary General, Hissein Brahim Taha.
Addressing the ministerial meeting on Sunday, DPM Dar had said that Israel must be held accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“This reckless and provocative attack constitutes a flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar, contrary to the fundamental principles of international law, including the UN Charter, in particular its Article 2(4), prohibiting the threat or use of force,” he added.
“We are gathering again this morning to discuss yet another illegal Israeli assault on a brotherly sovereign state. It was only last month that we met in Jeddah for an extraordinary meeting of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers to discuss Israeli aggression in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The mere frequency of our gatherings is enough to underline how Israel has become a persistent irritant and a danger to world peace and security.”
“We recognise Qatar’s tireless and principled engagement with all the parties, often under the most challenging circumstances to keep the channels of dialogue open and advance prospects of peace. Targeting Qatar is thus not only an attack on a sovereign state but also an attack on diplomacy and mediation itself,” he said.
Ishaq Dar said that as a non-permanent member of the UNSC, Pakistan will continue to work with the OIC and Arab partners to mobilise global support for Israel’s accountability for its rogue actions in the Middle East and for the Palestinian right to self-determination, justice and peace.
To safeguard the global order, Dar said Pakistan reiterates the following urgent and essential steps:
- Israel must be held accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity. It should not be allowed to get away with attacking Islamic countries and killing people with impunity.
- Creation of an Arab-Islamic task force to monitor the Israeli designs in the region and adopt effective deterrent and offensive measures in a synchronised manner to ward off Israeli expansionist designs.
- In line with the call made by the OIC, we must pursue the suspension of Israel’s membership of the United Nations. Following up on this step would be a clear message of seriousness by the Ummah.
- Member states should actively consider implementing additional punitive measures against Israel as a means to reinforce accountability and deter further violations of international law.
- UN Security Council must urgently demand Israel under Chapter VII of the UN Charter for an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire, release of hostages and exchange of Palestinian prisoners.
- Unfettered, sustained and secure humanitarian access to all civilians in need and the protection of aid workers, medical teams and UN personnel in the OPT.
- Revival of a genuine and time-bound political process to achieve a just, comprehensive and lasting two-state solution in accordance with international law and relevant UN and OIC resolutions.
