Shah Mahmood Qureshi addressing a media briefing on Saturday in eastern city of Lahore said that foreign ministers from the OIC Member States will attend the meeting which will be held after 41 years on Afghanistan.
“I am confident that the meeting would consider concrete steps to help address the humanitarian and economic challenges facing Afghanistan,” said Qureshi.
He said that on December 18th senior officials from the OIC member states will hold meetings while the representatives of the OIC secretariat will also arrive to oversee the meeting.
He went on to say along with the OIC member states, P5 countries, Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, relevant UN agencies, representative of world bank, some countries like Germany, Japan, Canada and Australia have also been invited to attend the extra session on Afghanistan.
He warned that abandoning Afghanistan would be a big mistake which could trigger a new conflict n the country. He said instability in Afghanistan is in nobody’s interest.
He added that issue of Afghanistan can be resolved through collective and coordinated approach.
Earlier Qureshi in a statement said as part of the Islamic Ummah, we are bound by fraternal bonds of amity and brotherhood with the people of Afghanistan.
“The OIC must step-in to help our Afghan brethren. We should step-up our collective efforts to alleviate the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people, provide immediate and sustained support to them, and continue to remain engaged with them for the well-being and prosperity of Afghanistan,” he said.
The 1st Extraordinary Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers was held in Islamabad, in January 1980, on the situation in Afghanistan. This month, the OIC members would again, gather in Islamabad, to reaffirm their abiding solidarity with and support to the Afghan people.
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