FM Dar urges stronger OIC coordination to protect Palestinians at UN, international forums

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister (FM) Ishaq Dar on Tuesday urged stronger coordination among Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states at the United Nations and other international forums “to protect the Palestinian people and to uphold international law”.

Addressing the OIC Committee of Six on Palestine on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, FM Dar said the Gaza ceasefire was being “violated on almost a daily basis” and called on OIC member states to maintain sustained diplomatic efforts in support of the Palestinian people.

“The Palestine cause remains central to the OIC and the collective conscience of the Muslim Ummah,” FM Dar said, adding that the Committee of Six had an “important responsibility” to “mobilise political and diplomatic support for the Palestinian people”.

He said the committee must also ensure that the international community did not “lose sight of its legitimate and human rights”.

FM Dar said the meeting was taking place at a time when the situation in the “occupied territories, in the West Bank and Gaza, continues to demand urgent and immediate attention”.

While recent diplomatic efforts had created an opportunity to advance a political process, he said, “serious challenges still remain”.

“The humanitarian situation remains dire, and the security environment is extremely fragile,” FM Dar said.

He welcomed the efforts of the mediating countries — the United States, Qatar and Türkiye — in advancing implementation of the “comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict” endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2803. The resolution, adopted in November 2025, endorsed the plan and called for its implementation, including maintenance of the ceasefire.

Turning to the situation in the West Bank, FM Dar said Israel’s “illegal settlement activity, settler violence, annexationist policies, and other violations” continued to threaten the “territorial integrity and continuity” of the occupied Palestinian territory.

He said such actions also “undermine the viability of a future Palestinian state”.

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FM Dar condemned the continued Israeli violations at Al-Aqsa Mosque, Al-Haram Al-Sharif, including “repeated incursions by extremist Israeli settlers”. “These actions are a flagrant violation of international law, relevant UN resolutions, and the historical and legal status quo governing the Holy Sites,” he said.

FM Dar said the prevailing situation required “renewed and coordinated diplomatic action” by the OIC and its member states.

He outlined six priorities for the Committee of Six, beginning with efforts to “safeguard the historical and legal status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque, Al-Haram Al-Sharif and all Islamic and Christian Holy Sites in Jerusalem”.

“The committee should also reject Israel’s illegal settlement expansion, annexationist measures, settler violence and forced displacement in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem,” he said.

He further stressed that reconstruction and governance arrangements in Gaza should remain “Palestinian-led” with a “central role for the Palestinian Authority”.

The foreign minister also called for accountability for violations of “international law and international humanitarian law” and urged stronger coordination among OIC member states at the United Nations and other international forums “to protect the Palestinian people and to uphold international law”.

FM Dar said international efforts should ultimately lead to a “credible, irreversible and time-bound political process” resulting in the establishment of an “independent, sovereign and contiguous state of Palestine”.

He reiterated Pakistan’s support for a Palestinian state “on the basis of pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital” and for Palestine’s “full membership of the UN”.

“As members of the OIC Committee of Six, we have a particular responsibility to translate our collective solidarity into sustained and coordinated diplomatic action,” FM Dar said. “Pakistan’s solidarity with the Palestinian people remains steadfast and unwavering,” he added.

He said Pakistan would continue to work with “brotherly and partner countries” to advance the Palestinian cause and promote a “just and lasting peace solution” to the question of Palestine in line with international legitimacy.