PM Shehbaz departs for Riyadh to attend Arab-Islamic Summit

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif departed for Riyadh on Sunday to participate in the Arab-Islamic Summit.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, he is set to address the summit and engage in discussions on critical regional issues.

The prime minister is also expected to hold meetings with various global leaders on the sidelines of the event. The summit, convened by the Saudi government, will focus on key issues in the Middle East, including the current situation in Gaza.

Heads of state and government from member countries of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) are attending this extraordinary gathering.

State-run broadcaster PTV News posted a video of the prime minister boarding a military plane to their X account.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi will accompany the PM during the summit.

According to a statement from the Deputy Prime Minister’s office, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar departed for Riyadh from Madina for the summit as well. He participated in the Council of Foreign Ministers’ Preparatory meeting in Riyadh, according to a statement from the Foreign Office.

Dar was speaking at the Council of Foreign Ministers’ Preparatory meeting for the Second Arab-Islamic Summit, Radio Pakistan reported. He condemned Israel’s “war crimes and crimes against humanity against the people of Palestine” and called for its accountability.

“[The] death toll of innocent Palestinians has crossed 44,000, while over a hundred thousand have been injured and millions displaced,” Dar said.

The deputy PM added that Pakistan will continue to champion the rights of Palestinians until the creation of a viable, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian state based on the pre-June 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital.

He commended the OIC and the Arab League for their “unwavering dedication” to the Palestinian cause.