Pakistan’s Dar arrives in Doha for ministerial meeting ahead of Arab-Islamic summit on Israel strike

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Doha on Sunday to lead his country’s delegation to a ministerial meeting ahead of an emergency Arab-Islamic summit on Israel’s attack in Qatar.

Dar was received at the airport by Pakistan’s ambassador to Qatar, the country’s permanent representative to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and senior Qatari officials, the Foreign Ministry said.

The ministerial gathering in Doha will finalize a draft resolution to be presented at Monday’s summit of Arab and Muslim leaders. The resolution will address Israel’s strike on the Qatari capital that targeted Hamas officials.

Qatar announced it would host the summit to denounce the attack, which killed five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer. The strike has been widely condemned across the region and internationally, including by Gulf states closely allied with the United States, Israel’s main backer.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said the summit reflects “broad Arab and Islamic solidarity with the State of Qatar in the face of Israel’s cowardly aggression... and the categorical rejection of Israel’s state terrorism,” according to the official QNA news agency.

Among the leaders expected in Doha are Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also scheduled to be in the Qatari capital, though his participation in the summit has not been confirmed.

The meeting comes as Qatar continues to play a key mediation role in the Gaza war, alongside the United States and Egypt. The Gulf state also hosts the largest U.S. military base in the region.

Analysts say the emergency summit is meant to deliver a strong signal to Israel.

The strikes were “seen across the Gulf as an unprecedented violation of sovereignty and an attack on diplomacy itself,” Andreas Krieg of King’s College London said. He added that the gathering showed “such aggression can’t be normalised.”

“The goal is to draw clear red lines and end the sense in Israel that it can act with impunity,” Krieg said. “Expect a sharper stance on Palestine and a harder edge on Israeli actions.”

The Doha meetings underscore rising regional anger after Israel extended its conflict with Hamas beyond Gaza into the territory of a state that has acted as an intermediary in cease-fire and hostage negotiations.

For Pakistan, Dar’s participation reflects Islamabad’s alignment with broader Arab and Islamic positions against the strike. Pakistan has consistently voiced support for Palestinian statehood and condemned Israel’s military operations.

The summit in Qatar is set to be one of the most significant diplomatic gatherings since the escalation of the Gaza war, with leaders seeking to showcase unity against Israeli actions while reinforcing Qatar’s regional standing.

- With additional input from AFP.