Pak PM Shehbaz leaves for Qatar to attend emergency meeting of Arab-Islamic nations

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday left for Qatar on a day-long visit to participate in an emergency meeting of Arab-Islamic nations in Doha to discuss a possible unified response to Israel's attack on the Hamas leadership in the Gulf country.

The summit has been convened in the wake of Israel's airstrikes on Doha on September 9 and the worsening human rights situation in Gaza. Five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer were killed in the attack.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and PM's Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi are accompanying Prime Minister Shehbaz, while Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is already in Doha.

It was Shehbaz's second visit to Qatar within a week. He travelled to Doha on Thursday to meet Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and express solidarity following Tel Aviv's attacks targeting residential areas in Doha.

Several top leaders of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries are expected to participate in the Doha summit. The meeting aims to send a strong message to Israel. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Sunday urged the international community to abandon its "double standards" during a closed-door meeting of Arab and Islamic foreign ministers in Doha.

''What encourages Israel to continue its behaviour is the silence of the international community and its failure to hold Israel accountable," he said.

But nothing more from the rhetoric is expected despite a hope for serious action, officials said.

It should be noted that Israel and some Arab countries announced the establishment of normal relations as a result of the Abraham Accords signed in 2021.

The summit in Doha is being jointly hosted by the 22-member Arab League and the OIC.

The meeting is being held at a time when political tensions in the Middle East is increasing. Israel's war in Gaza is now entering its third year, while other countries in the region are also suffering from its devastation.

Israel attacked Qatar despite the Gulf nations playing a mediating role in efforts to end the Gaza war. Israel previously also attacked Lebanon, Iran, Yemen and Syria.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)