Af humanitarian scene grim: OIC
Islamabad, Dec. 19: Representatives of Muslim nations at a special meeting here on Sunday acknowledged the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and called for measures to tackle it.
The 17th Extraordinary Session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) called at the proposal of Saudi Arabia is being hosted by Pakistan with the objective to bring to the notice of the world the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.
Official sources said that about 70 delegates of countries and international organisations, including the UN, are participating in the daylong conference. They include about 20 foreign ministers and 10 deputy ministers.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, in his keynote address, asked the US to de-link its policy towards the Taliban from the 40 million people of Afghanistan, while asking for action to help the Afghan people. “If the world doesn’t act, this will be the biggest man-made crisis which is unfolding in front of us,” he said.
He warned that Afghanistan would end up in chaos if immediate action was not taken. The chaos means the end of the government which would strengthen the ISIS, enabling it to carry out acts of global terrorism, the prime minister said.
Pakistan made elaborate security arrangements for the meet. Capital Islamabad was locked down, fenced with barbed wire barriers and shipping-container roadblocks were installed where police and soldiers stood guard. A two-day local holiday has been declared to help the unhindered movement of delegates.
Khan said he looked forward to the meeting as it would come up with a roadmap to address the brewing crisis in the neighbouring country. Afghanistan’s economy is facing a major crisis after the Taliban seized power in Kabul in mid-August, amid a chaotic US and Nato troops withdrawal from the country.
Following hardline Islamists assuming power in Afghanistan, the international community froze billions of dollars’ worth of assets abroad and stopped all funding to the country. Khan also highlighted the threat of Islamophobia. —