Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stated on Saturday that 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, according to a press release from the Foreign Office (FO).
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had earlier threatened severe retribution for Haniyeh’s killing, led prayers for the Palestinian leader’s burial in Qatar on Thursday.
Haniyeh was visiting Tehran for Pezeshkian’s inauguration ceremony when he was killed.
Thousands of mourners, carrying posters of Haniyeh and Palestinian flags, gathered for the ceremony at Tehran University before a procession.
Haniyeh’s death was announced by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who stated that he and his bodyguard were killed in a strike on their accommodation in the Iranian capital at 2 am on Wednesday.
This occurred just hours after Israel killed top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in a retaliatory strike on Beirut, raising fears of a wider regional conflict amid the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
Israel has not commented on the Tehran strike.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated that Iran “will certainly carry out the supreme leader’s order [to avenge Haniyeh]” and emphasized their duty to respond appropriately.
In a telephonic conversation with Dar, Acting Foreign Minister of Iran Ali Bagheri Kani expressed his country’s deep sorrow over Haniyeh’s assassination.
FM Dar conveyed to his Iranian counterpart that Pakistan shared their sentiments and that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had condemned the developments in Gaza and the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in the strongest terms.
Additionally, the National Assembly unanimously condemned the killing, deeming it against international law and diplomatic norms.
Kani requested Dar to participate in the “extraordinary meeting” of the OIC at the “foreign ministers level,” which has been requested by Iran and is expected to be held soon, according to the FO.
Dar fully supported the call for the extraordinary meeting and confirmed that Pakistan would “actively participate” in the “important meeting”.
