Hello my dear readers! I hope you are all doing well and staying safe. Today I bring you a big international story. It happened in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Something dramatic took place at a major summit — many countries stood up and walked out while the President of Israel was speaking. Let me explain everything in very simple words.
What happened in Baku
On 15 October 2026, leaders and senior officials from across Asia gathered in Baku for the seventh summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, also known as CICA. CICA is a group of 28 countries working for peace and cooperation in Asia. It is a big forum where Asian nations meet to talk. The then-president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, started it in 1992.
The President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, was invited to speak. When he began his address, something remarkable happened. Delegations from 13 countries out of 28 stood up and walked out of the hall in protest. That is nearly half of all the countries present.
Which countries walked out?
According to reports, the countries that walked out included Iran, Palestine, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iraq, Egypt, Kuwait, Jordan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Bangladesh.
There is some disagreement about one country — Qatar. Iranian media listed Qatar among the countries that left. But eyewitnesses at the conference said the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, actually stayed in his seat and listened to the speech. So on this point, the reports do not fully agree, and I am telling you both versions so you know the full truth.
Turkey sent its Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan. Iran sent its deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs. Pakistan sent its ambassador to Azerbaijan. The Palestinian Authority sent its foreign minister.
Who stayed?
Not everyone walked out. The representatives of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates stayed in the hall and listened. These two countries have formal relations with Israel under what are called the Abraham Accords.
Why did they walk out?
Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, made Iran’s position very clear. He called on the member countries to expel Israel from CICA. In his words, Israel is ‘the main source of insecurity and instability in Asia.’ He also said the world should not stay silent over what he called Israel’s crimes.
The walkout was a protest against Israel’s actions in the region, especially the war in Gaza. Many Muslim countries have been angry about the suffering of Palestinian people, and this walkout was their way of showing it on a world stage.
What did Herzog say?
President Herzog continued his speech even as the delegations left. He said that cooperation between countries cannot grow if there are boycotts. He pointed to Israel’s relations with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates as examples of partnership.
Herzog said Israel wants to work with Asian countries in areas like technology, science, innovation, and digital connectivity. He also praised Azerbaijan, calling it an important partner for international peace.
Herzog had flown to Baku on a commercial Azerbaijan Airlines flight. Interestingly, the flight crossed Turkish airspace. Turkey does not allow official Israeli flights in its airspace because of the Gaza war, but international aviation rules do not let countries check passenger lists of civilian flights.
This happened before
This was not the first such walkout. On 24 September 2026, at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, delegations from nearly 70 countries walked out or left their seats empty when the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, began his speech.
So the Baku walkout is part of a bigger pattern. More and more countries are using walkouts to show their anger at Israel’s policies.
Pakistan’s position
Pakistan does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. Pakistan has always supported the Palestinian people and their right to their own homeland. By walking out, Pakistan’s ambassador showed that Pakistan’s position has not changed.
This is part of a wider story I have been covering here at Pak Unfiltered — the growing tensions in the Middle East, from the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia to Iran’s offer to help bring peace. You can read my earlier stories on these topics for the full picture.
Why this matters
You may wonder why a walkout in Baku matters to us in Pakistan. Here is why, in simple words.
First, it shows how divided the world is right now. When nearly half the countries at a peace summit walk out during a speech, it tells us that trust between nations is very low.
Second, it affects Pakistan’s foreign policy. Pakistan stood with the Muslim countries, and that will shape how other countries see us.
Third, these tensions can affect all of us. When the Middle East is unstable, oil prices can rise, and that makes life more expensive for ordinary people everywhere, including in Pakistan.
What happens next?
Will Israel be expelled from CICA, as Iran demanded? That seems unlikely for now, because many member countries did not join the walkout. But the protest sent a strong message that the world could not ignore.
The real question is whether such protests will lead to real change — or whether they are only symbolic. Only time will tell.
That is the full story, my dear readers, explained as simply as I could.
Take care.
If you have any questions about this story, please ask me in the comments or through our Contact Us page. Your questions make me happy, and I will do my best to answer them.
Sources: CICA on Wikipedia and Isaac Herzog on Wikipedia.
