The strategic impact of OIC’s Afghan moot
THIS truth— entailed by a strategic urge— is equally admitted by the policymakers in East and West that currently the Afghan people cannot be expected to fulfil aphoenix-like task as the bird in Greek mythology rises from its ashes— practically the Afghan nation needs the help of others to resurrect in the comity of nations.
The currently Islamabad-held one-day OIC moot on Afghanistan (Dec. 19) has been an historical development as this reflected a united stand and concern by the OIC member states on the emerging challenges that the Afghan government and community faces today.
President of the Brussels-based think-tank “Institute of Peace and Development (INSPAD)” and Secretary General of the International Harmony Council Dr Muhammad Tahir Tabassum has said that the extraordinary conference of OIC Foreign Ministers in Islamabad is a commendable initiative. Whereas the OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha on Monday said the OIC meeting regarding Afghanistan held in Islamabad a day ago was “very successful”.
The core idea or the brainchild of this session had emerged from a sideline meeting of Prime Minister Imran Khan with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman during the Saudi Green Initiative conference held this year in Riyadh.
Both the leaders had agreed to look at issue through the prism of Muslim Ummah, as Afghanistan is among the founding members of council. “I had also visited Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Iran under the diplomatic outreach initiative and was able to create a platform of six neighbours of Afghanistan for mutual discussion and consultation,” said Pakistan’s FM Qureshi.
About Pakistan’s role toward peace and stability in Afghanistan, the OIC Assistant Secretary General said, Pakistan was the founding member of the OIC.
The country played a very important role for solidarity of the Muslim Ummah. Pakistan FM Shah Mahmoud Qureshi said, “message to gathering on Sunday is: “Please do not abandon Afghanistan. Please engage. We are speaking for people of Afghanistan.
We’re not speaking of a particular group. We are talking about people of Afghanistan’’. Should there be any doubt, an unstable Afghanistan will remain a constant security threat to the world?
Needless to say, today, Afghanistan faces a humanitarian catastrophe which includes the crises of food, funds as well as the crisis of good governance.
After attending the inaugural session of the moot attended by the Foreign Ministers of members, delegates, international observers and media, the women members of the National Assembly showed their optimism that hosting such an important gathering of OIC after over 40 years was an honour for the country.
Michael Kugelman, Deputy Director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Wilson Centre, said OIC nations could do more, suggesting they work through their religious scholars and have them interact directly with the Taliban.
For now, it would be difficult for the West to engage with the Taliban, Kugelman said, adding that such an interaction would be tantamount to admitting defeat in the 20-year war. For the Taliban, it would be “final satisfaction of being able to engage … from the standpoint of victor,” he said.
And yet, the 17th Extraordinary Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers has been a fairly big deal. As the host, Islamabad has taken a centre stage and can rightfully claim credit for achieving substantive headway.
Truly, the OIC forum has provided Pakistan an excellent opportunity to showcase its priorities as a key player in Afghanistan and also craft its strategic narrative so as to become the primary driver for peace and stability in the neighbourhood.
Undeniably, arresting the global attention to the people of the war-ravaged, poverty and disease-stricken country, Foreign Ministers and dignitaries from the 57-member OIC deliberated on ways to aid Kabul while navigating the political realities of its Taliban-run govt.
The biggest Islamic forum rendezvous intrinsically aims to find lasting solutions to the crises faced by the Afghan urban and rural community.
The OIC joint resolution, issued after the meeting, said it will play a leading role in the urgent delivery of humanitarian and development aid to the Afghan people who are facing extreme hunger and poverty.
The economic collapse of Afghanistan, already teetering dangerously on the edge, would have a horrendous impact on the region and the world, the leading Muslim speakers warned Sunday at the start of a one-day summit.
The special representatives on Afghanistan of major powers, including China, the US and Russia participated in the conference.
The event also included the UN Under Secretary General on Humanitarian Affairs as well as the President of the Islamic Development Bank Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, who offered several concrete financing proposals.
He said the IDB can manage trusts that could be used to move money into Afghanistan, jumpstart businesses and help salvage the deeply troubled economy.
Waliullah Shaheen, head of the Afghan Centre for Strategic Studies at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the Afghan economy, banking system and the normalization of Afghanistan’s relations with the world are the main agenda items for the upcoming meeting.
And most importantly, the moot has delivered a strategic message to the world that the Muslim nations are not indifferent to the pains and sufferings of the Afghan people .
The moot has shown the resolve of the Muslim Ummah to redress the agony and the plight of the Afghan people. The historic display of unity of the Muslim leadership delivers a lasting message to the world that we, the Ummah, cannot leave the hapless Afghans on the helm of their affairs.
The message is loud and clear: the Muslims are united to help them and to share their grievances. The Secretary General emphasized that the OIC is closely following the developments in Afghanistan and that OIC member states are committed to working to advance the interests of the Afghan people, reject violence, maintain security in the Afghan society and ensure lasting peace so as to meet the Afghan people’s aspirations and hopes for stability, dignified living, respect for their rights and prosperity.
One of the most influencing strategic impacts could be that the US lawmakers feel more poised to request the US Congress to help the Afghan people since they have asked Congress to unfreeze the Afghan assets.
—The writer, an independent ‘IR’ researcher-cum-international law analyst based in Pakistan, is member of European Consortium for Political Research Standing Group on IR, Critical Peace & Conflict Studies, also a member of Washington Foreign Law Society and European Society of International Law.
