Pakistan condemns Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as ‘political aggression’ at OIC meeting
Islamabad: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Sunday condemned Israel’s recent move to recognize Somaliland as political aggression at a high-level meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, rejecting any plans to forcefully displace Palestinians from their homeland.
Dar arrived in Saudi Arabia on Friday to attend the 22nd OIC Council of Foreign Ministers held in Jeddah on Jan. 10 to discuss Israel’s move last month to recognize Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia, as a separate nation. The act has drawn sharp criticism from Muslim nations worldwide.
Muslim countries, including Pakistan, fear the move could be part of Tel Aviv’s plan to forcibly relocate Palestinian Muslims to Somaliland. Several international news outlets last year reported that Israel had contacted Somaliland over the potential resettlement of Palestinians forcibly removed from Gaza.
“We believe that such recognition of an integral part of a sovereign state is not a diplomatic act, but an act of political aggression that sets a perilous precedent, threatening peace and security in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea region, and beyond,” Dar, who is also Pakistan’s foreign minister, told participants of the meeting in Jeddah.
