ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will participate in an emergency Arab-Islamic summit in Doha on Monday in the wake of Israeli airstrikes in Qatar that killed at least six people earlier this week, the foreign office announced on Saturday.
Israel attempted to target a group of Hamas leaders discussing a Gaza ceasefire proposal floated by the United States by hitting a residential neighborhood in Doha on Tuesday. Qatar has been a key mediator in ceasefire and hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas, hosting the Palestinian group’s political bureau as part of the process.
Pakistan reacted sharply to the strike, calling it a violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Sharif traveled to Doha on Sept. 11 to express solidarity with Qatar’s leadership, while Pakistan’s UN mission requested an emergency Security Council meeting and urged the international community to hold Israel accountable.
“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will visit State of Qatar to participate in the Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit being held in Doha on 15 September 2025,” the foreign office said.
“The Summit, co-sponsored by Pakistan, has been convened in the wake of Israel’s airstrikes on Doha and the escalating developments in Palestine — following Israeli attempts to occupy Gaza, expand settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and forcibly displace the Palestinians,” it added.
The summit will be preceded by a preparatory meeting of foreign ministers on Sunday, which Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will attend.
According to the statement, leaders and senior officials from Organization of Islamic Cooperation member states are also expected at the gathering.
Pakistan’s foreign office said the country “accords high importance to its relations with State of Qatar” and has “strongly condemned Israeli aggression against Qatar and other regional states.”
It added that Sharif’s visit underlines Pakistan’s “unwavering support for the security and sovereignty of Qatar and its commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East.”
Pakistan has also repeatedly condemned Israel’s offensive in Gaza, which has killed nearly 65,000 people, mostly women and children, since October 2023, and called for an immediate ceasefire and war-crimes accountability.
