NEW YORK: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has asserted that the entire Muslim Ummah is outraged over Israel’s use of indiscriminate force against innocent Palestinians and called for a joint voice to condemn the violence.
The foreign minister was speaking at a working dinner hosted at the Pakistan Embassy in New York for the visiting foreign ministers of Organization of Islamic countries, including Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (Turkey), Riad Al-Malki (Palestine), Monsieur Othman Jerandi (Tunisia) and General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir. Permanent Representative of Pakistan at the United Nations Ambassador Munir Akram and Pakistan’s Ambassador in Washington DC Asad Majeed Khan also joined.
The foreign ministers discussed the worsening situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and called the need to formulate a unified and unequivocal response from the OIC member states ahead of tomorrow’s UNGA special meeting on the situation in Palestine.
FM Qureshi reiterated Pakistan’s strongest possible condemnation of Israel’s deliberate and systematic assault against Palestinian worshippers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan, violation of the sanctity of the holy sites, its policy of expansion of illegal settlements as well as forced eviction of Palestinians, and demolition of their homes with impunity.
He expressed his deep gratitude to all brotherly OIC countries, who along with Pakistan, played a proactive role in convening the special meeting of the UN General Assembly.
He expressed the hope that the special meeting of the General Assembly would help send a strong message on behalf of the OIC to the international community to help end the Israeli aggression and to take concrete steps to find a solution to the Palestinian issue.
Earlier, the delegation of foreign ministers of Pakistan, Turkey, Palestine and Tunisia arrived at the John F Kennedy Airport in New York.
FM Qureshi’s visit to New York is part of Pakistan’s intensive diplomatic outreach efforts to mobilize international support to end the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinians.
Foreign Minister Qureshi will address the special session of the UN General Assembly tomorrow, which has been convened as a result of combined efforts of Pakistan and other OIC countries to discuss the Israeli aggression against the Palestinians.
