NEW YORK: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday held consultations with the envoys of a few Muslim countries to adopt a united stance at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for Palestine.
The foreign minister has arrived in New York to attend the emergency meeting of the UNGA on the Gaza predicament today. Israel has killed nearly 250 Palestinians and as per most reports, injured over 1,400 people since May 10.
Shah Mehmood, in a dinner hosted at the Pakistan Consulate General, discussed the grave situation in the Middle East with the permanent representatives of the OIC countries.
UNGA President Volkan Bozkir and the foreign ministers of Turkey, Palestine and Tunis were also present at the dinner.
He briefed the envoys about Pakistan’s efforts, urging them to adopt a unanimous stance at the UNGA.
In his address, the foreign minister highlighted the human rights violations being committed by Israeli security forces against innocent Palestinians.
He shared his views on the volatile situation and stressed upon the need to internationalise the crisis.
FM Qureshi, during his stay in New York, will also meet media representatives and brief them on Pakistan’s stance on local and international matters.
Qureshi is undertaking the UN visit on the instructions of Prime Minister Imran Khan to highlight the human tragedy unfolding in the region due to Israeli occupation and relentless air attacks.
The UN General Assembly is holding an urgent meeting to discuss the “grave deterioration” of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, a spokesperson of the 193-member body’s president announced Monday.
Spokesman Brenden Varma said that the session on Thursday, May 20, is in response to a request from the chairmen of the OIC Group and the Arab Group at the UN made in a joint letter to the Assembly president, Volkan Bozkir of Turkey.
The letter was signed by Niger’s Ambassador Abdou Abarry, who is chairman of the OIC Group, and Algeria’s Ambassador Sofiane Mimouni, who heads the Arab Group.
