Islamabad offers to host OIC meeting on Afghanistan

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): Pakistan has offered to host an extraordinary session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Council of Foreign Ministers on the situation in Afghanistan.

While welcoming the meeting proposed by Saudi Arabia, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan was ready to host the meeting in Islamabad on December 17.

A statement from the Foreign Office quoted Qureshi as saying that Pakistan fully endorsed the Saudi initiative. He hoped other OIC members would also back Riyadh’s proposal.

Saudi Arabia, the current chair of the OIC summit, issued on Monday the call for the extraordinary session to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.

Qureshi highlighted the need for immediately providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan in these difficult times.

“Afghanistan is a founding member of the OIC. As part of the Islamic Ummah, we are bound by fraternal bonds of amity and brotherhood with the people of Afghanistan,” the foreign minister remarked.

He noted Afghanistan was facing a serious humanitarian situation, with millions of people, including women and children, confronting an uncertain future due to the shortage of food, medicines and other essential supplies.

“We should step up our collective efforts to alleviate the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people, provide immediate and sustained support to them and continue to remain engaged with them…”

The FO statement recalled the first extraordinary session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers that was held in Islamabad in January 1980. That was also on the situation in Afghanistan.

“Next month, we would, once again, gather in Islamabad to reaffirm our abiding solidarity with and support to the Afghan people,” Qureshi said.

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