57-member Muslim bloc meets on Afghanistan

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): The Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is all poised to meet today (Sunday) in Islamabad on the grim m situation in Afghanistan.

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

Participants will discuss the ongoing humanitarian and economic crises in the conflict-torn country, as well as the need for urgent international assistance to steer Afghanistan out of these problems.

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.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is hopeful of the extraordinary meeting will yield positive results in terms of averting the looming humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan.

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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