At OIC, Ishaq Dar presses for immediate, lasting Gaza ceasefire

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza while addressing the OIC Committee of Six on Palestine. He said Pakistan would advance peace efforts as a UN Security Council non-permanent member for 2025–2026 and insisted that international humanitarian law be upheld. Citing the immense civilian toll since October 2023, Dar urged the OIC to press for safe aid corridors, full backing for UNRWA and a halt to forced displacement and settlement expansion. He underscored that violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is worsening and warned against attempts to bury the two-state solution. Dar tabled a wide-ranging agenda for action: an unconditional ceasefire; protection for civilians; respect for ICJ rulings; accountability for war crimes; a reconstruction plan led by Arab and Islamic countries; an international protection arrangement for Palestinians; and the creation of a fully sovereign Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and a UN seat.