Pakistan renews call for Palestinian state after Istanbul meeting
Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said the Istanbul meeting also condemned Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping and backed safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Pakistan has renewed its call for an independent Palestinian state on the borders that existed before June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, saying a two-state solution is needed for lasting peace.
Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan set out the position after a meeting of R4 foreign ministers in Istanbul. Daily Times reported that the participants discussed Palestine, Yemen, the United States, Israel and Iran, and reviewed developments around the Strait of Hormuz and wider regional security.
Khan said the meeting condemned Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in Yemen and the Red Sea. Pakistan expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia and Yemen and said negotiations and diplomacy were needed to settle regional disputes and prevent further tension. It called for safe and uninterrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Pakistan urged an immediate end to the violence in Gaza and unrestricted delivery of humanitarian assistance, and renewed its support for Palestinian self-determination. The ministers welcomed continuing diplomatic efforts, including what the statement called the Islamabad memorandum of understanding.
According to Daily Times, the R4 ministers also met counterparts from France, Germany, Italy and Britain in Istanbul on October 23 to discuss regional and international challenges.
Pakistan sent condolences to Jordan over deaths and injuries there and wished the wounded a speedy recovery. It restated its solidarity with Jordan in fighting terrorism.
It condemned Houthi ballistic missile attacks on the Makkah and Madinah regions of Saudi Arabia on October 26, describing them as violations of Saudi sovereignty and territorial integrity. Pakistan reaffirmed its support for Saudi Arabia and for the Makkah alliance for defence, and pledged to help protect the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque from external threats.
Dunya News reported that Pakistan reiterated support for an independent Palestine and called for an end to the violence in Gaza.
How the reports differ
Dunya News led its headline on Pakistan's call to end the violence in Gaza alongside its support for an independent Palestine. Daily Times carried the fuller account, naming Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan and the Istanbul R4 meeting, and adding the demand for pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as capital, the call for uninterrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the condemnation of Houthi missile strikes on Saudi Arabia's Makkah and Madinah regions.
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