Ishaq Dar, Saudi counterpart confer on Gaza crisis

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have agreed to intensify diplomatic engagement over the crisis in Gaza, as Washington pushes a new initiative aimed at ending the conflict.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke late Monday night with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, shortly after returning to Islamabad from an overseas trip.

According to the Foreign Office, the two leaders held a substantive exchange on the unfolding situation in Gaza against the backdrop of recent diplomatic activity, including several rounds of consultations between the United States and the foreign ministers of eight Arab-Islamic countries — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkiye, Indonesia and Pakistan — during the high-level week of the 80th UN General Assembly in New York.

Dar and Prince Faisal reaffirmed the importance of coordinated regional and international diplomacy to secure an immediate halt to hostilities, ensure relief for civilians, and advance a framework for a just and lasting peace for the Palestinian people.