By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan joined Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Indonesia, Djibouti, Somalia, Palestine, Oman, Sudan, and Yemen on Sunday in a sharply worded joint condemnation of Somaliland’s opening of a “purported embassy” in occupied Jerusalem.
The foreign ministers described the move as “illegal and unacceptable,” a “flagrant violation of international law and relevant international resolutions,” and “a direct infringement on the legal and historical status of occupied Jerusalem.” In a joint ministerial statement released by Pakistan’s Foreign Office, the 14 countries rejected any unilateral steps that would “entrench an illegal reality” in the city or confer legitimacy on arrangements that violate United Nations resolutions.
The statement said that East Jerusalem has formed part of the occupied Palestinian territory since 1967 and that any attempt to alter its legal or historical status is “null and void and without legal effect.” The ministers also reaffirmed their “full support for the unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity” of Somalia, explicitly rejecting any unilateral measures that undermine Somali territory or infringe on its sovereignty.
Somaliland, a self-declared independent region that broke away from Somalia in 1991 but is not recognized as a sovereign state by the United Nations or the African Union, announced on May 19 that it would establish the embassy in Jerusalem. The decision follows Israel’s formal recognition in December 2025 of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state — the first country to do so. Somalia immediately rejected the Israeli move, calling it a “deliberate attack” on its sovereignty.
Sunday’s statement marked the latest in a series of diplomatic rebukes tied to Israel’s deepening engagement with Somaliland. Last month, 12 countries, including Pakistan, issued their “strongest condemnation” after Israel announced it would appoint a diplomatic representative to the breakaway region. Several nations, including Pakistan, have questioned whether Israel’s overtures to Somaliland are connected to broader proposals involving the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the establishment of Israeli military bases in the Horn of Africa.
The United States defended Israel’s December recognition of Somaliland during subsequent discussions at the United Nations Security Council. But the coordinated statement on Sunday underscored the depth of opposition among Muslim-majority and Arab nations to any change in Jerusalem’s status. The joint declaration came as foreign ministers from the 14 nations coordinated their response through diplomatic channels, with Pakistan’s Foreign Office issuing the text on their collective behalf. The statement made clear that the nations view Somaliland’s embassy as part of a pattern of unilateral actions that threaten long-standing international consensus on both Palestinian territory and Somali unity.
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