Pakistan's top diplomat calls for 'unanimous' stance on Gaza, Islamophobia

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday called for a unanimous stance from the Muslim world on Israel's Gaza offensive and a rising tide of Islamophobia in the West.

Addressing a joint press conference along with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in the capital Islamabad, Dar, who also holds the portfolio of deputy prime minister, said Pakistan and Türkiye share a united stand on Gaza, and against islamophobia on international forums.

Fidan arrived in Islamabad on a two-day visit on Sunday.

Condemning the ongoing Israeli offensive on Gaza that has killed over 35,000 people, mainly women and children, since last October, Dar urged the international community to act for an "immediate" cease-fire, and ensure urgent relief supplies to the besieged enclave.

The two countries, he said, are cooperating in different areas including economy, trade and defense with a goal of taking the bilateral trade volume to $5 billion.

Highlighting the long-standing cultural, religious and diplomatic ties between the two sides, he said "Türkiye and Pakistan are two countries but one nation."