Egypt and Pakistan are drawing closer together in the build-up to a summit next week in Islamabad. It will be the first time since 1983 that an Egyptian head of state travels to Pakistan.
The two nations have both condemned the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and asked for UN Security Council action.
MENA reported that Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy made a personal phone call this Friday to Pervez Ashraf, the Pakistani prime minister. They discussed the Israeli action in both legal and humanitarian terms. These conversations are particularly pertinent because Pakistan currently has a place among the ten rotating members of the UN Security Council.
The embassy of Pakistan in Cairo reported that their representative on the Security Council said “these are senseless killings. The Israeli retaliation is excessive, the response disproportionate. The international community should step in. The Security Council should ensure that hostilities cease forthwith and further escalation is arrested, without caveats and qualifications.”
However, as a non-permanent member, they do not have veto power, while the US is sure to use their veto against any resolutions critical of Israel.
Pakistan also recently joined Egypt in professing support for Palestine’s bid to become a non-member observer state in the UN. Mobashir Hasan, press attaché at Pakistan’s embassy in Egypt said, “the position of Pakistan has always been with the people of Palestine.”
The united front formed by the two countries – who boast a combined population of 260 million Muslim citizens – serves as a backdrop for next Thursday’s Developing-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation summit. The summit brings together select member states, all with large Muslim populations, to discuss new economic approaches and build diplomatic unity at the global level.
For Morsy, the summit presents important opportunities such as continuing to strengthen ties with Turkey, and to further Egyptian involvement with Africa and Southeast Asia. The members of the D-8 are Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, Nigeria, Malaysia, Iran, Indonesia, and Bangladesh.
On Saturday Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was quick to issue a statement offering condolences to families affected by the school bus tragedy in Assiut, saying, “may Allah grant them the courage and patience to bear this irreparable loss.”
