PM stresses OIC efforts to stop Israeli aggression

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged the OIC to launch a concerted effort to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Al-Aqsa Mosque and other occupied Palestinian territories. The Prime Minister expressed the views in a meeting with OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha, who called on him in Makkah-tul-Mukarrama, says a press release.

Shehbaz Sharif stressed that Israel must not be allowed to divide the holy mosque between the peoples of different faith. The Prime Minister affirmed his government’s commitment to promote the interests of Muslims as a cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy. He maintained that Pakistan, as the current chair of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, was looking forward to playing a proactive role in the matters of interest and concern to the OIC member states. The Prime Minister thanked the Secretary General for the OIC’s consistent and unequivocal support to the Kashmir cause. He urged the OIC to lead diplomatic endeavors towards facilitating a peaceful and lasting solution to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions and aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

The Prime Minister underscored the need for the provision of urgent humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. He emphasised that the OIC should step up its efforts to counter growing Islamophobia in the world. The Prime Minister invited the OIC Secretary General to visit Pakistan. He accepted the invitation and also felicitated the Prime Minister on assuming office.

He also highlighted the role Pakistan had played in the OIC as a founding member and reaffirmed the OIC’s support for a just and peaceful resolution to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions. He expressed the resolve to work closely with Pakistan on key issues of concern to the Muslim Ummah, especially Palestine, Afghanistan and Islamophobia.