Statement of the

Minister of State of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan

H.E. Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan

at the OIC Executive Committee Ministerial Meeting

in Jeddah, 3 January 2009

Mr. Chairman,

H.E. Prof. Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, OIC Secretary General,

Distinguished Ministers,

Excellencies,

I wish to thank you for convening this meeting to express our solidarity with the Palestinian people, in the wake of the Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip.

We are appalled and shocked at the scale of attacks that have caused huge loss of precious human lives. Pakistan shares the pain of the Palestinian people.

We have strongly condemned this aggression, which constitutes violation of international and humanitarian and human rights law as well as the Geneva Conventions. Resort to the use of force is always counter productive.

We believe that resort to violence would not solve any problem and military escalation would seriously undermine efforts aimed at durable peace in the region.

We call for the immediate end to hostilities and protection of the human rights of the Palestinian people. There is certainly the need to enhance unity and cohesion within the Palestinian ranks and the necessity of OIC, once again, taking a unanimous position on side of legitimacy and justice.

We support all initiatives aimed at ending the cycle of violence, safeguarding of the Palestinian rights, urgent provision of humanitarian assistance and ending of blockades.

The international community must also redouble its efforts for promoting a peaceful, just and durable settlement of the Palestine issue on the basis of “land for peace” principle. We support the Quartat initiative and the Arab Peace Plan.

The OIC must play a leading role in not only mitigating the tragic humanitarian situation resulting from the attacks but also in coordinating efforts of the member states at the United Nations.

We must also interact closely with EU and bring to bear our collective influence to prevent any further aggravation.
Pakistan , in line with OIC's principled stand on the issue of Palestine and Al-Quds Al Sharif, once again, appeals to the international community to uphold the rights of the Palestinian people including their inalienable right to establish an independent state of their own on their motherland.

We also express our full support and solidarity with our Palestinian brethrens at this tragic juncture.

I propose that we authorize the Secretary General to hold consultations with member states on the proposal for convening an emergency OIC Summit. Pakistan favours effective OIC action.

As regards Somalia , Pakistan calls upon all to respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity at Somalia . We support the Djibouti peace process and urge for its full implementation.

I wish to thank you once again for convening this important meeting.