Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday to attend the 2nd Joint Arab-Islamic Follow-Up Summit in Riyadh on November 11.
The summit, convened at the initiative of the Saudi government, will focus on the ongoing situation in the Middle East, particularly Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch confirmed that Prime Minister Sharif will reaffirm Pakistan’s strong support for Palestine, calling for an immediate end to the genocide in Gaza and the provision of international protection for the Palestinian people.
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He will also advocate for the establishment of an independent State of Palestine, with June 4, 1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
This visit marks Sharif’s second trip to Saudi Arabia in recent days, following his attendance at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) last month.
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On the summit’s sidelines, he is expected to hold bilateral meetings with leaders from Arab League and OIC member states.
Baloch also announced that Pakistan welcomed the UN Special Rapporteur’s recent report condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s health ministry reported that over 43,479 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since October 7.
Moreover, Pakistan’s Acting Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Usman Jadoon, condemned Israel’s efforts to dismantle the operations of the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).