Pakistan “fully supports” Iran’s call for an extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) following the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in a strike in Tehran, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Saturday.
He said this in a telephonic conversation with acting Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, according to a Foreign Office statement.
Haniyeh was visiting the Iranian capital for the inauguration ceremony of the Iranian president when he was killed, along with his bodyguard, in what Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said was a strike on their accommodation early on Wednesday morning.
The killing came just hours after Israel targeted and killed a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut, raising fears of a wider escalation of the conflict in the region. Israel has not commented on the strike in Tehran.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, led prayers for Haniyeh’s burial in Qatar on Thursday, after previously threatening “harsh punishment” for his killing.
Thousands of mourners gathered at Tehran University, carrying Palestinian flags and posters of Haniyeh, before a procession was held.
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FM Dar told his Iranian counterpart that Pakistan shared their sentiments and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had condemned the developments in Gaza and the atrocious assassination of Haniyeh in the “strongest possible terms”.
On Friday, the National Assembly unanimously condemned the killing as a violation of “international law, established diplomatic norms and acceptable behaviour amongst the comity of nations”.
Kani requested Dar’s participation in the “extraordinary meeting” of OIC foreign ministers that Iran has called to address the situation. Dar, who is also the deputy prime minister, confirmed that Pakistan would “actively participate” in the “important meeting” which is expected to be held in the near future.
