Pakistan’s MInister of Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi hosted foreign ministers in Islamabad today for the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), where he called for urgent measures to ensure food security and economic revival for Afghanistan. This was the 17th Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC, called on short notice to deal with the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Afghanistan.
After describing the horrible and quickly degenerating situation, and citing material from both the World Food Program and other UN agencies, Qureshi focused upon immediate investment in education and the professional sector. This had to be done “both bilaterally” amongst individual states and “through the OIC platform.” He called for mechanisms for sustainable humanitarian and financial support to the government, and announced that the OIC was establishing an expert group of OIC and UN representatives to restore the banking sector.
Qureshi described how coordination on anti-terrorism, and on the ensuring of political and social inclusion, especially women, was to proceed hand-in-hand. He observed that the “gathering of OIC leaders at a short notice also reaffirmed their commitment to addressing the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan…. It is a moment to stand up for the Afghan people and they must be supported without any condition.”
