The Organization for Islamic Cooperation’s Summit on Afghanistan

Dec. 19, 2021 (EIRNS)—The Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held their meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers on Sunday in Islamabad, hosted by Pakistan. The OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha chaired the session, announcing that the “OIC is ready to carry out a follow-up of the outcome and to play its role in supporting humanitarian action in coordination with the relevant OIC missions and relief agencies across the Muslim world.” He called upon all parties in Afghanistan (quoting the OIC statement on their website) to “advance the interest of the Afghan people, protect lives, renounce violence, and establish lasting peace, in order to fulfill the aspirations and hopes of the Afghan people for stability, decent living, and prosperity.” He said that the OIC’s Mission in Kabul needs more “financial, human, and logistical resources” to “assume its full responsibilities in coordinating humanitarian and development support operations....” He said that the OIC reiterates “the importance of concerted efforts to combat terrorism and acts of violence in Afghanistan....”

Separately, Taha and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan met on the sidelines, where they reportedly discussed not only Afghanistan, but also the “India-administered” section of Kashmir, called Jammu and Kashmir, and the escalation of Islamophobia in the West. At the conclusion of the OIC Council of Ministers, Taha appointed Tariq Ali Bakheet, the OIC’s Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian, Cultural and Social Affairs, to be his Special Envoy on Afghanistan. He is tasked to follow up on the implementation of the resolutions of the IOC’s Council of Foreign Ministers, “particularly as regards coordinating efforts for the supply of humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people.” The OIC webpage also states that Bakheet is “mandated to pursue economic and political engagement with Afghanistan.”

According to the Tribune Express, the OIC’s extraordinary session on Dec. 19 also involved participants from the UN, international financial institutions, such as the Asian Development Bank and IMF/World Bank, international and regional organizations, and non-OIC members—including the P5, the EU, Germany and Japan. Other statements to the summit came from OIC Regional Groups from Asia, Africa and Arab world, as well as the President of the Islamic Development Bank, Dr. Muhammad al-Jasser.