ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif landed in Doha to attend the Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit being held in Qatar today.
The Summit, co-sponsored by Pakistan, has been convened in the wake of Israel’s airstrikes on Doha and the escalating developments in Palestine, following Israeli attempts to occupy Gaza, expand settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and forcibly displace the Palestinians.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Information and Broadcasting Minister Attaullah Tarar, Special Assistant to PM Syed Tariq Fatemi and senior officials are part of the prime minister’s delegation.
The Summit is likely to be attended by Heads of States and Governments and senior officials from the OIC member countries.
A preparatory meeting of the foreign ministers was held on Sunday in which Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar also participated.
Following Israel’s airstrikes on Doha, Prime Minister Shehbaz had also visited Doha on September 11, 2025, as a gesture of solidarity and regional unity, and met with Qatari leadership to express Pakistan’s unwavering support for the security and sovereignty of Qatar and its commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East.
The visit came after Israel carried out an unprecedented attack in Qatar, targeting senior Hamas leadership in Doha as discussions on a US-backed ceasefire proposal for Gaza were under way.
In response, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a condemnation of the Israeli prime minister’s comments, calling them a “shameful attempt … to justify the cowardly attack that targeted Qatari territory, as well as the explicit threats of future violations of state sovereignty”.
“Netanyahu is fully aware that the hosting of the Hamas office took place within the framework of Qatar’s mediation efforts requested by the United States and Israel,” it said.
“Such statements are hardly surprising coming from an individual who relies on extremist rhetoric to win elections and is wanted for international justice, facing mounting sanctions on a daily basis – factors that only deepen his isolation on the global stage.”
In just three days, Israel has launched attacks in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Tunisia and Qatar, while continuing daily raids in the occupied West Bank. On Wednesday, it killed 35 people in an attack in Yemen.
