ISLAMABAD – Pakistan is hosting the 17th extraordinary session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers on Afghanistan in Islamabad today (Saturday).
As part of highlighting the need for engagement with Kabul, the session is being convened at the initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the OIC Summit Chair.
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. Pakistan is hosting such a meeting of the OIC foreign ministers after 41 years as the last meeting of the OIC FMs was first held in January 1980.
FM @SMQureshiPTI visited Islamabad Airport to inspect arrangements for reception of the incoming delegates attending 17th Extraordinary Session of the @OIC_OCI CFM in #Islamabad ⬇️#OICinPakistan#OIC4Afg pic.twitter.com/p4DWWNL6vv
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) December 17, 2021
Prime Minister Imran Khan will also deliver the keynote address and share role Pakistan’s, hoping that it would prove to be a stepping stone in finding a solution to the looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan while the Afghan delegation attending the moot is being led by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
The meeting of OIC members is also being attended by the US, Germany, Japan, EU, Australia, France as well as representatives of international financial institutions, making it the biggest international gathering on Afghanistan since the Taliban captured Kabul.
Meanwhile, the acting Afghan foreign minister will lead the Taliban delegation at the conference, as he will present their perspective before the representatives of countries that matter the most.
Very constructive session with members of Pakistan’s media fraternity, discussing the upcoming 17th Extraordinary Session of the @OIC_OCI Council of Foreign Ministers. Together we must draw the world's attention to act on the dire humanitarian crisis in #Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/PSkmfPHYAF
— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) December 17, 2021
Pakistan is hoping the OIC meeting would lead not just to mere commitments but concrete steps for assisting the people of Afghanistan, who are facing the dire humanitarian situations.
The international aid agencies and the UN have warned that nearly 23 million Afghans are facing an acute food shortage, while about a million children could die this winter if urgent help does not reach Afghanistan.
The other issue is the restoration of economic assistance and banking channels that were not functional since the Taliban takeover as Western countries withheld assistance while the US froze $9.5 billion assets of the Afghan Central Bank.
A Foreign Office statement said on Friday said “The meeting is being convened in the backdrop of an aggravating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. Besides expressing solidarity with the Afghan people, the CFM is also expected to explore avenues for containing and reversing the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, especially in terms of food shortages, displacement of people and a potential economic collapse”.
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“Pakistan has always maintained that continued engagement of the international community with Afghanistan is imperative and hosting of the CFM is another manifestation of Pakistan’s intense diplomatic outreach to consolidate support for the people of Afghanistan,” the statement further reads.
FM Qureshi on Friday said at least 90 foreign delegates had arrived in country’s federal capital to deliberate and find a way out of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the Parliament House has been handed over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to host the Extraordinary Session of Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
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Islamabad traffic police have issued a plan for three days from 18 to 20 December to divert vehicles to separate routes on the occasion of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) moot.
Entry and exit to the red zone will remain close to certain routes while Srinagar Highway, Jinnah Avenue via Embassy Road could be used for traffic.
اسلام آباد میں 18، 19 اور 20 دسمبر 2021 کو OIC سربراہی اجلاس کے لیے ٹریفک پلان جاری۔
1) ریڈ زون کے درج ذیل داخلی اور خارجی راستے بند ہوں گے:
ایوب چوک
ایکسپریس چوک
نادرا چوک
سرینا چوکمتبادل طور پر مارگلہ روڈ استعمال کیا جا سکتا ہے۔
2) مری روڈ، سری نگر ہائی وے اور 1/2 pic.twitter.com/TQ0fhnqwix
— Islamabad Police (@ICT_Police) December 17, 2021
