By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, reached Saudi Arabia on Saturday to attend an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Council of Foreign Ministers, a gathering convened amid mounting outrage over Israel’s recent recognition of Somaliland as an independent state.
The session, called in Jeddah, comes after Israel’s announced last month that it was formally recognising the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, making it the first country to do so since the region broke away from Somalia in 1991. The move has provoked sharp criticism from Muslim nations, including Pakistan, which described it as an attempt by Israel to undermine the unity and territorial integrity of Somalia.
Dar, who flew from Islamabad late Friday and was received in Madinah by Pakistan’s ambassador, Ahmed Farooq, and Consul General Mustafa Rabbani, is expected to articulate Pakistan’s stance during the discussions. “During the session, the Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister will share Pakistan’s position on the issue of Somaliland,” the Foreign Office said in a statement. The emergency meeting was announced by the OIC earlier this week, with the organization stating that it aimed to coordinate a unified position among Muslim states and reaffirm unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia under international law and relevant OIC resolutions.
Somaliland, which occupies a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden, maintains its own currency, passport and army but has long struggled to secure international recognition, partly out of concern that it could encourage other separatist movements in Africa and provoke Somalia’s central government in Mogadishu. No United Nations member state had recognised it until Israel’s decision, which has drawn condemnation from regional bodies and triggered this rare OIC convocation.
Tensions escalated further with the visit on Jan. 6 by Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, to Somaliland, following reports in international media that Israeli officials had contacted Somaliland authorities about the possible resettlement of Palestinians forcibly removed from Gaza.
A joint statement issued by Pakistan and other Muslim countries on Thursday condemned Saar’s trip, calling it a violation of the African nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “The session will address the implications of Israel’s recognition of the so-called Somaliland region of the Federal Republic of Somalia,” the Foreign Office statement added.
Beyond the main agenda, Dar’s itinerary includes bilateral meetings with counterparts from other OIC member states to discuss further cooperation on regional and international issues, according to the Foreign Office. The OIC, which represents 57 Muslim-majority countries, has historically served as a platform for addressing threats to Islamic solidarity, and this meeting underscores the broader geopolitical ripples of Israel’s outreach to Somaliland. Pakistan, a key OIC member with deep ties to Saudi Arabia, has consistently advocated for the preservation of Somalia’s unity, viewing separatist bids as potential precedents that could destabilize other fragile states.
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