TODAY’S PAPER | March 12, 2026 | EPAPER

Ishaq Dar arrives in Jeddah to attend OIC Executive Committee meeting

During the visit, DPM/FM will also undertake brief visits to the Holy Cities


Web Desk February 26, 2026 2 min read
DPM arrives in Saudi Arabia on two-day visit on February 26, 2026

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Jeddah on a two-day visit to participate in the Extraordinary Open-Ended Ministerial Meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Executive Committee.

He was received at King Abdulaziz International Airport by Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the OIC Fawad Sher, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ahmad Farooq, and Consul General in Jeddah Syed Mustafa Rabbani.

Dar departed today for Saudi Arabia to attend the Open-Ended Extraordinary Ministerial Session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Executive Committee in Jeddah, scheduled from February 26 to 28, according to a Foreign Office post on X.

According to the post, "He will hold sideline meetings with counterparts from OIC Member States. During the visit, he will also undertake brief visits to the Holy Cities."

The session is expected to focus, in particular, on recent decisions and measures declaring lands in the occupied West Bank as Israeli property. Diplomatic sources said member states are likely to issue a strong condemnation.

On February 22, in a joint statement, foreign ministers from Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia, Kuwait, Oman, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine, along with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, League of Arab States, and Gulf Cooperation Council, expressed “profound concern”.

Read: FM Dar to attend OIC-CFM session in Jeddah

The concern was regarding comments made by the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee speakig to Tucker Carlson, suggesting he would not oppose Tel Aviv taking over large parts of the Middle East.

The ministers said Huckabee’s remarks contradicted “the vision put forward by US President Donald Trump, as well as the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict,” which they said aims to contain escalation and create a political path toward a settlement ensuring Palestinians have an independent state.

Dar, alongside Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces Asim Munir, on Tuesday attended a meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in Doha, with discussions spanning bilateral cooperation and the evolving regional situation.

While the Prime Minister's statement regarding the Qatar visit did not explicitly spell out specific regional flashpoints, it is understood that ongoing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Iran-US standoff, and efforts surrounding a Gaza peace plan figured in the discussions, given the fast-evolving security environment in the wider region.

COMMENTS (2)

Raees Ahmad | 2 weeks ago | Reply Kggc6h
Benjamin | 2 weeks ago | Reply A complete waste of time energy efforts by DyPM Ishaq Dar traveling for the OIC emergency meet as Israel has United States of America backing a complete support and OIC can t do anything against Israel. Israel will annex West Bank and will keep Gaza under control.
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