OIC conference on Afghanistan holds paramount importance: FM Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday said the 17th Extra-ordinary Session of Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Afghanistan held paramount importance to avert humanitarian crisis in the neighbouring country.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, FM Qureshi said he reviewed all the arrangements regarding the OIC session.

“At the moment there is no war in Afghanistan but the country faces the issue of hunger. The world should not show negligence in this matter,” he said.

The minister reiterated his call for the world to focus on the Afghanistan issue.

Read more: Islamabad gears up to host OIC moot tomorrow

The foreign minister warned that a humanitarian crisis could break out in Afghanistan anytime. Afghanistan’s situation was extremely critical, he maintained.

He said Pakistan wished that Afghan refugees return honourably to their houses. And they would return when there was peace, opportunities and stability, he added.

Mahmood Qureshi said 39 US Congressmen had written a letter to US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken in which they said that it was the responsibility of the US to avert the looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

“It is our moral obligation,” Qureshi quoted them as saying.

“This is the fundamental purpose of the OIC conference which we want to highlight. It is going to be a historic event,” he said.

He said we were at the cusp of such a turn that if we took the right step it would bring prosperity and peace in Afghanistan and God forbid, if we became negligent and did not take timely measures then Afghanistan could become victim of a new crisis.

“This will be disastrous not just for the neighbours also and an influx of refugees will also be witnessed in Europe,” he said.

FM Qureshi said Afghanistan was facing a financial crisis and its banking system was not working. They didn’t have money to pay salaries to the people, he said adding that the world would have to take steps to make the future of Afghans secure.

Islamabad gears up to host OIC moot tomorrow

The federal capital is all set to host the 17th Extra-ordinary Session of Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation tomorrow with a special focus on the evolving situation in Afghanistan.

The session is being convened at the initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as OIC summit chair.

Read more: FM Shah Mahmood Qureshi discusses OIC session with journalists, diplomats

Besides the foreign ministers from the OIC member states and observers, participants would also include special invitees from the United Nations system, international financial institutions and some non-member states, including the United States, United Kingdom, France, China, Russia, Germany, Italy, Japan and the EU.

The Afghan interim government would also be represented at the summit.

The meeting is being convened in the backdrop of the aggravating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

“The 17th Extraordinary Session reflects Pakistan’s abiding commitment and consistent efforts to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan and the continued well-being of the Afghan people,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.