The final statement of ministers at the Islamabad meeting of tbe Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) stressed the need for a comprehensive Afghan government, the release of all frozen assets of Afghanistan, respect for human rights issues and increased humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
The member states of the OIC pledged to stand by the people of Afghanistan to improve the situation. The seventy-item statement, in paragraphs 26 and 27, stated that lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan can only be achieved through the establishment of an inclusive government.
“I think that support for Afghanistan has become a reality, because we signed an agreement with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Islamic Development Bank. The budget for supporting the people is to be transferred to the account of the Islamic Development Bank,” said Hussein Ibrahim Taha, secretary general of the OIC.
The meeting of foreign ministers of Islamic countries was hosted by Islamabad on Tuesday and Wednesday (on 22-23 March 2022) and some members of the Islamic Emirate attended the meeting.
The Islamic Emirate said it considered this meeting important for Afghanistan. “We hope that the OIC member states will take more serious steps toward Afghanistan,” said Inamullah Samangani, deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate.
In the meantime, Pakistan called on the Islamic countries and the world to deposit their humanitarian aid in a safe trust fund of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation for Afghanistan.
“The fifth outcome is operationalization of the OIC humanitarian trust fund on Afghanistan, the decision was taken (by the) organization, you must have seen the signing ceremony, and now that has become a reality and that fund has been operationalized,” Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said.
Earlier, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) opened its office in Kabul to address the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and to provide humanitarian assistance.
The participants said that an economic meltdown could lead to mass migration of Afghans, an increase of terrorism activities, and instability with dire consequences for the region. They urged the international community to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
The OIC also decided to open a mission in Kabul. The draft resolution says that it “requests the General Secretariat to take immediate steps to reinforce the OIC Mission in Kabul with human, financial and logistical resources, enabling it to forge global partnerships and streamline aid operations on the ground.”
The draft resolution also called for the unfreezing of Afghan assets to avert a humanitarian crisis in the country.
The OIC resolution called on OIC member states, Islamic financial institutions, donors, and international partners to support the trust fund for Afghanistan. To better coordinate humanitarian support, the OIC appointed Tariq Ali Bakheet, the assistant secretary general for humanitarian and cultural affairs, as the OIC secretary general’s special envoy for Afghanistan.
