OIC’s special session on Afghanistan begins

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): The Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) began an extraordinary meeting in Islamabad on Sunday to discuss the grim situation in Afghanistan.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi received the delegates, including P-5 and EU representatives, at the Parliament House — the venue of the conference.

Prime Minister Imran Khan will deliver a keynote address to spotlight the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and seek urgent global assistance to the country.

Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al-Saud, OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha and others will address the session.

More than 22.8 million Afghans are facing starvation, the United Nations says. WFP has warned 3.2 million children are at risk of acute malnutrition.

About 665,000 people have recently been displaced within Afghanistan between January and September 2021 – in addition to the 2.9 million people already internally displaced.

Representatives from the 57-member Muslim bloc, regional and international organisations and some important non-OIC countries are attending the extraordinary session.

On Saturday, senior OIC officials met to hammer out the agenda for the ministerial session. Officials from the UN, Japan and Germany have also been invited.

Senior officials from OIC member countries to deliberated on the agenda and a working plan for the foreign ministerial meeting.

OIC Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tarig Bakheet said: “It is crucial for the international community to take swift action to ensure that the people of Afghanistan have unimpeded access to life-saving assistance.”

The OIC humanitarian office in Kabul would assume its responsibility in coordination with the various international agencies in delivering the required assistance to millions of needy people, he said, stressing the need for scaled-up support.

OIC members and other international partners would take effective steps to address the grim humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, he hoped.

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