OIC Summit: Pakistan’s role as a bridge state
THE hastily called but very impressive meeting of the 17th Extraordinary Session of Council of Foreign Ministers of Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Islamabad, was a huge diplomatic win for Pakistan. It’s not an exaggeration to say the spread was that of a global summit.
Envoys from 57 Islamic nations as well as observer delegations particularly the UN system, International Financial Institutions (IFIs), international and regional organizations and non-OIC members including the P-5, European Union and major countries like Germany and Japan, were among the attendees.
The highlight of the summit was, amongst other things, the Western delegates meeting with the Taliban team led by the Interim Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
The other is the US commitment to provide aid to Afghanistan without any pre-conditions and there could be as much as $1.2 billion available through the World Bank that could be released to Afghanistan.There was almost unanimity of views for a quick opening of the country’s banking system to ease the liquidity crunch.
To avert the danger of a complete economic meltdown, F.M. Shah Mahmood Qureshi proposed a six-point plan to OIC for coordinating aid, rebuilding Afghan institutions, increasing investment and providing technical expertise to resuscitate the Afghan economy.
The Joint Resolution urged the Foreign Ministers to appoint a special envoy for extending assistance and arranging an institutional mechanism for disbursement of resources along with a trust fund and food security program.
The OIC will work with the UN to provide humanitarian assistance, however, the 31part resolution lacked details.
Both the United States and China appreciated the summit and acknowledged Pakistan’s role as a bridge state in bringing global leadership to Islamabad to address the pressing issue of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
What came as a result of the summit was expected, a grim warning that the economic collapse of Afghanistan already teetering dangerously on the edge, would have a “horrendous” impact on the region and the world.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, in his opening remarks, issued a clear warning to the global community, stating that Afghanistan could potentially become the biggest “man-made crisis in the world” if it did not act now.
Time is of essence; Afghan people can’t wait for the resource mobilization to happen. The catastrophe is preventable only if timely action is taken. The humanitarian crisis unfolding in Afghanistan is caused by drought and decades of conflict.
It was further aggravated by the economic crunch resulting from US sanctions and asset freeze after Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan.
The international community led by US is squarely responsible for the mess. Afghanistan’s economy for years was on steroids, instant withdrawal instead of a planned one is showing its impact, 75% of the country’s budget was supported by foreign aid, which has come to a complete halt.
This has triggered both a governance and an institutional collapse. Prime Minister Imran Khan while directly addressing the United States and its Western allies asked for a delink of the Taliban government from the 40 million Afghan citizens and requested for collaborative action to prevent chaos, which he says suits none.
US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West told the participants in the close door session of the extraordinary meeting that Washington was working with partners to address the liquidity problem of Afghanistan.
He also clarified that the US did not want to attach any conditions with the humanitarian assistance.
Martin Griffiths, the UN’s head of Humanitarian Affairs, said that “the need for liquidity and stabilization of the banking system is now urgent, not only to save the life of the Afghan people but also to enable humanitarian organizations to respond.
“The extraordinary meeting also urged the US to unfreeze the $ 9.5 billion assets of Afghan Central Bank.The OIC summit was convened by Saudi Arabia and hosted by Pakistan, however it had a distinct US ring to it.
Many also see it as the US getting back into the game.In August 2021, when Taliban forces recaptured Kabul, and all of Afghanistan, China seized the opportunity to criticize the United States.
Hua Chunying of China’s Foreign Ministry, compared the US style democracy to “Chilled Milk” something anathema to Chinese people, condemning US coercion of other countries to adopt its democratic systems.
The Afghan issue has been added to the list of China-US disputes.However, the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong congratulated Pakistan on successfully hosting the 17th Extraordinary Session of the OIC.
China had come on strong in the beginning but has little appetite to get sucked into stabilizing Afghanistan.
It is in no mood to substantiate the US sanctions and frozen assets.This was in so many words spelled out at the OIC summit.
Moreover, another thing that came out in bold was that humanitarian assistance, yes, recognition and legitimacy is not even on the table and may not happen for a long time.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also made it clear at the OIC meeting that the special summit on the Afghanistan crisis did not constitute an official recognition of the Taliban regime.
Taliban will have to walk their talk and show the requisite pragmatism required to become a part of the international community.
Just demanding the end of international isolation and financial strangulation without being flexible and delivering on the ground is a futile exercise.
Last but not the least it’s the US that’s calling the shots and will continue to do so. Interestingly, the State Department’s Spokesmen Price in his briefing said, “we absolutely believe there is an urgent humanitarian situation in Afghanistan now.
As we are now in the winter months our concern for the well-being of the Afghan people is further pronounced.
But, he also pointed out that while the US will continue to be the world’s humanitarian leader for the Afghan people, “this’s not something we can do alone.
He urged other countries to come forward and help Afghanistan, “including countries very nearby, regional countries – that can and should do more for the Afghan people.
” Asked which nearby countries the US would like to do more for Afghanistan, Mr. Price said: “I don’t think it is helpful for the cause of the humanitarian plight of the Afghan people for me specifically to call out countries by name.
” But there were “some perhaps fairly obvious countries in the region that have the ability and the stake in seeing an Afghanistan that is stable and secure. ” Readers any guesses? My take is the reference was to China and Russia largely.
—The author is an Associate Professor of Social Sciences and Liberal Arts at the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi.
