ISLAMABAD — Pakistan is hosting a special meeting of the OIC foreign ministers on the Afghanistan humanitarian crisis in Islamabad today (December 19).
The 17th Extraordinary Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers will be held at the Parliament House in Islamabad on Sunday.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan will deliver the keynote speech at the inaugural session of the OIC summit and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will address a news conference with OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha in the evening.
The Sunday’s session of the OIC meeting will open with a statement from the Pakistani foreign minister who will chair the extraordinary session. It will be followed by a statement by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al-Saud, who is also chair of the OIC summit.
I warmly welcome all delegates to Pakistan for the 17th Extraordinary Session of the @OIC_OCI Council of Foreign Ministers on Afghanistan, many of whom I had the pleasure of meeting today. We look forward to a constructive session tomorrow. #OICInPakistan #OIC4Afg pic.twitter.com/jrxcZS6BUK
— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) December 18, 2021
Also, there will be statements by OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha, Islamic Development Bank President Dr Muhammad Al-Jasser and OIC Regional Groups for Asia, Africa and the Arab states.
On Saturday, the Pakistan prime minister welcomed OIC delegates and diplomats from other countries. He said in a tweet that the upcoming conference was “an expression of solidarity with the Afghan people” who were facing a dire humanitarian situation.
Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (#OIC), H.E. Mr. Hissein Brahim Taha, affirmed that positive atmosphere prevails in the #Pakistani capital #Islamabad, ahead of the 17th extraordinary session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers … pic.twitter.com/SLFHuoO2i2
— OIC (@OIC_OCI) December 18, 2021
Afghanistan has witnessed a complete economic meltdown since August this year, the time when the United States of America left the country in a total chaos after fighting here for 20 long years.
The Afghan Army built and funded by the US and mostly trained by India collapsed like a wall of sand within a couple of weeks after departure of the US troops.
Finally, the Afghan Taliban took control of the war-torn country after defeating a united army consisting of hundreds of thousands of soldiers equipped with the world’s best intelligence, latest war technology and the most sophisticated weapons.
Earlier, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud arrived in Islamabad on Saturday night and was received by Adviser to Pakistani Prime Minister on Middle East Hafiz Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi and Saudi envoy to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki at the airport.
Foreign ministers of Kuwait, Bahrain, Malaysia, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Bosnia have also arrived in Pakistan to attend the OIC summit.
Special representatives of the United States and Germany for Afghanistan have also reached Pakistan to attend the session.
Pleased to be in Islamabad for an Extraordinary Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, focused on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. A timely and important initiative.
— U.S. Special Representative Thomas West (@US4AfghanPeace) December 18, 2021
Secretaries general of the OIC and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are also present in the Pakistani capital.
The foreign ministers of Jordan, Turkey, Palestine, Iran, Bangladesh, and other important Islamic countries will also attend the meeting.