Jeddah, August 26, 2025: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolve to deepen ties with North African nations, including Algeria and Egypt, through greater connectivity and expanded cooperation across multiple sectors.
Dar made the remarks during meetings with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf on the sidelines of the 21st Extraordinary Session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers.
The discussions also centered on the worsening humanitarian situation in Palestine, with all sides stressing the urgent need for humanitarian access, a ceasefire, and long-term peace. The leaders underscored that unity within the Muslim Ummah was critical in confronting these challenges.
Dar arrived in Jeddah on Monday for a two-day official visit, where he addressed the OIC session and strongly denounced Israel’s ongoing onslaught in Gaza. He reiterated Pakistan’s rejection of Israel’s “annexationist mindset,” citing the Israeli cabinet’s plan to impose full military control over Gaza and the prime minister’s allusion to creating a so-called “Greater Israel.”
“Gaza has become a graveyard for innocent lives as well as for international law, particularly International Humanitarian Law,” Dar said in his address, noting that over 60,000 Palestinians — most of them women and children — have been killed in Israel’s brutal military campaign.
He condemned Israel’s systematic targeting of hospitals, schools, UN facilities, aid convoys, and refugee camps, describing them as “wanton acts of collective punishment in full view of the world.”
Dar called for an immediate ceasefire, unhindered humanitarian assistance, an end to forced displacement and illegal settlements, and accountability for war crimes. He stressed that famine, starvation, and indiscriminate bombardment had pushed Gaza into a “full-scale humanitarian catastrophe.”
“The so-called humanitarian system put in place by the occupying power is a cruel illusion,” he added. “Civilians are being shot while trying to collect food. The hunger crisis in Gaza has reached unprecedented and deeply alarming levels.”
