Dar calls for Gaza ceasefire, notes Israeli barbarism faced by Palestinians
Pakistan
Says more than 40,000 people martyred so far, even aid workers aren’t being spared
ISTANBUL (Web Desk) – Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday described the situation in Gaza as worrying and said Palestinian civilians in the enclave were facing barbarism.
In his address to an extraordinary meeting of D-8 foreign ministers, he said even aid workers were being targeted in Gaza, adding that the whole state of affairs was a tragedy.
Demanding an immediate ceasefire, Dar, who is also the country’s deputy prime minister, noted that over 40,000 had so far been martyred since October – when Israel started using brute force against more than two million civilians living in the narrow Gaza Strip which is located along the Mediterranean Sea.
Bordered by Israel in the east and north, Egypt is located in its south. That’s why it is often described as the world largest open air prison.
Earlier in the day, the foreign minister landed in Istanbul directly from China where he was accompanying Prime Minister Shehbaz during a five-day visit.
The D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, also known as Developing-8, is an organisation for development co-operation among Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkiye.
Headquartered in Istanbul, the group was formed on July 15, 1997 through the Istanbul Declaration of Summit of Heads of State/Government.
The idea of cooperation among major Muslim developing countries was mooted by the then Turkish Prime Minister, Prof Dr Necmettin Erbakan, during a Seminar on “Cooperation in Development” which was held in Istanbul in October 1996. The group envisioned cooperation among countries stretching from South East Asia to Africa.
