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Tag: OIC

  • ‘Nothing insulting about PM Imran’s remarks on Afghanistan’: Taliban FM responds to Hamid Karzai

    ‘Nothing insulting about PM Imran’s remarks on Afghanistan’: Taliban FM responds to Hamid Karzai

    Taliban’s Foreign Minister disapproved Hamid Karzai’s statement by saying “Nothing insulting about PM Imran’s remarks on Afghanistan”.

    Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi disapproved on Monday former president Hamid Karzai’s statement wherein the latter rebuked Prime Minister Imran Khan for attributing the prevalent situation in the war-torn country to years of “corruption” by previous governments.

    Prime Minister Imran made the remarks while addressing the 17th extraordinary session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Council (OIC) of Foreign Ministers in Islamabad on Sunday, where he also said that Pakistan faced the threat of the militant Islamic State (IS) group from Afghan soil.

    Reacting to the premier’s remarks, Karzai described the statements as “an attempt to sow discord among Afghans, and an insult to the Afghan people”. In a statement on his Twitter, he said the Pakistan government should “strictly refrain from propagating against Afghanistan and interfering in our internal affairs”.

    “Pakistan should avoid speaking on behalf of Afghanistan [on] international forums. It should work towards creating positive and civilised relations between the two countries,” Karzai wrote.

    Responding to the premier’s remarks on an IS threat originating from Afghanistan, the former president said the “allegation” that IS was active in the country and posed a threat to neighbouring Pakistan “is [a] clear propaganda as the reality has been the opposite”.

    “The threat of ISIS has been directed from Pakistan against Afghanistan from the very onset,” he added.

    On Monday, Foreign Minister Muttaqi disapproved of Karzai’s statement.

    Upon returning to Kabul from Islamabad, where he had also addressed the OIC’s session on Afghanistan, Muttaqi told reporters he did not find anything “insulting” about Prime Minister Imran’s remarks.

    “I do not see anything insulting about Imran Khan’s remarks that needs an official response. It was a positive conference and there are positive outcomes so we should not take it negatively,” Muttaqi said. “What’s of significance is that Imran Khan slammed former Afghan governments and I believe that officials from the past governments were compelled to show some reaction,” the foreign minister said. He added that different views and opinions were shared at the meeting and that every person was responsible for what they said.

    “[And more] importantly, all participants at the conference spoke in favour of Afghanistan.” Muttaqi’s remarks were posted on the official Facebook page of Afghanistan’s state media.

  • PM urges OIC to continue advocacy for resolution of J&K dispute

    PM urges OIC to continue advocacy for resolution of J&K dispute

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to continue advocacy for the resolution of Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.

    He was talking to Secretary General of OIC Hissien Brahim Taha who called on him in Islamabad on Sunday on the sidelines of OIC Ministerial Conference.

    Appreciating OIC’s steadfast support to Kashmiri people, the Prime Minister raised concern over the grave human rights situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

    Highlighting the contemporary challenges of Islamophobia affecting Muslims around the world, Imran Khan suggested that OIC should take a lead in educating the global audience about the love and reverence of Muslims for the Holy Prophet Peace be Upon Him.

  • Pakistan all set to host 17th OIC Session on Afghanistan Tomorrow

    Pakistan all set to host 17th OIC Session on Afghanistan Tomorrow

    Pakistan is all set to host the 17th extraordinary session of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) OCI CFM on Afghanistan in Islamabad on 19th Dec 21 to avert the biggest humanitarian crisis & initiate a united effort to assist the people of Afghanistan.

  • 90 foreign delegates arrive to attend OIC CFM

    90 foreign delegates arrive to attend OIC CFM

    90 foreign delegates arrive to attend Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Council of Foreign Ministers in Islamabad.

    As part of highlighting the need for engagement with Afghanistan, Pakistan is hosting the 17th Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad on December 19. The Session is being convened at the initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as OIC Summit Chair. Pakistan had welcomed the call and offered to host the Session

    Besides the Foreign Ministers from the OIC Member States and Observers, participants would also include special invitees from the United Nations system, International Financial Institutions and some non-member states including the United States, United Kingdom, France, China, Russia, Germany, Italy and Japan, as well as the EU. The Afghan Interim Government would also be represented at the CFM.

    The meeting is being convened in the backdrop of the aggravating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. Besides expressing solidarity with the Afghan people, the CFM is expected to explore avenues for containing and reversing the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, especially in terms of food shortages, displacement of people and a potential economic collapse.

    “Pakistan has always maintained that continued engagement of the international community with Afghanistan is imperative and hosting of the CFM is another manifestation of Pakistan’s intense diplomatic outreach to consolidate support for the people of Afghanistan,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

    It said that the 17th Extraordinary Session reflects Pakistan’s abiding commitment and consistent efforts to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan and the continued well-being of the Afghan people. “The Extraordinary session would provide an opportunity to consider practical and concrete steps to help address the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people,” it added.

    Pakistan and Afghanistan are founding members of the OIC. Over the years, Pakistan and the OIC have extended consistent support to the people of Afghanistan. The first Extraordinary Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers was also held in Islamabad, in January 1980, also to consider the situation in Afghanistan. The last CFM hosted by Pakistan was in 2007.

    The Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) will be preceded by the Senior Officials Meeting on December 18. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday said at least 90 foreign delegates have arrived here to deliberate and find a way out of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

    After reviewing arrangements for visiting dignitaries at the Islamabad International Airport, he asked the officials to ensure maximum facilitation to the guests, who are here to participate in the 17th session of the Extraordinary Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), being held in Islamabad on December 19.

    The Foreign Minister was accompanied by Aftab Ahmed Khokhar, head of the  reception committee and Ambassador of Pakistan to Austria. “It would be a wonderful event, he said and hoped that the arriving delegates during their stay would enjoy the pleasant weather of the federal capital,” Qureshi said. To a query, he said the arrival of president Islamic Development Bank Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser would open doors for humanitarian aid to Afghan people.

    “There was a need to put in place an institutional mechanism for providing direct and timely assistance to the people of war torn country,” he added. He expressed his gratitude to the OIC secretariat on behalf of his government for extending all possible cooperation for holding the moot.

    He said he had a meeting with OIC Secretary General and assured him of full cooperation by the foreign office on the eve of regular session of the cooperation expected to be convened in March 2022.

  • KSA’s delegation arrives for OIC in Islamabad

    KSA’s delegation arrives for OIC in Islamabad

    KSA delegation arrived on Friday to attend the 17th session of the Extraordinary Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC in Islamabad.

    A delegation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia arrived on Friday to attend the 17th session of the Extraordinary Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), being held in Islamabad on December 19.

    The delegation was comprised of the Head of the Afghan Affairs department Prince Abdullah bin Khalid bin Saud al-Kabir and the Head of the PP department Prince Jiluwi bin Turki. Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki and senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received the guests, as Pakistan rolled out a red carpet in honour of the dignitaries.

    President Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Dr Muhammad Al Jasser also arrived in Islamabad and spoke to the media, and stated that the meeting had great significance for Afghanistan as the people were facing famine, hunger and lawlessness after the withdrawal of the United States. He said that a gathering of all Muslim countries at a single platform was a great sign for the Muslim Ummah to find out possible solutions for lasting peace in the war-torn country.

    “We all, at the Summit, will work together to help Afghan people,” he remarked. He further stated that Pakistan was an important country and one of the most important members of the IDB. He hoped that the meeting would bring positive outcomes and that the Afghan people would enjoy peace once again.

    The bank’s president also hailed Pakistan’s government for helping its neighbor during this difficult time by hosting the conference. More than two-dozen countries of the OIC have confirmed their participation at the foreign ministerial level in the upcoming extraordinary session on the current Afghan situation, officials told on Thursday.

    The official also said that senior diplomats from the permanent members of the UN Security Council, including the US, will also join the crucial meeting of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) in Islamabad on December 19.

  • ‘India losing battle of hearts and minds’ in occupied Kashmir: FM Qureshi

    ‘India losing battle of hearts and minds’ in occupied Kashmir: FM Qureshi

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Thursday that the Indian government was “losing the battle of hearts and minds” in occupied Kashmir.

    Addressing a press conference alongside Special Envoy of the Organisation of Islamic Council on Jammu and Kashmir Yousef Aldobeay, who is on a six-day visit to Pakistan along with an OIC delegation, Qureshi added: “And you have witnessed in the neighbouring country to the west what happens when one loses the battle of hearts and minds.”

    Replying to a question, the foreign minister said he was a seeing a change in the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir.

    The Indian government, he said, had created an impression that the situation was normal again in the valley.

    “But the way they snatched [late Hurriyat leader] Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s body dispelled that impression,” he said, adding that had the Indian authorities not imposed restrictions, “a sea of people” would have been witnessed at Gilani’s funeral. “It would have reflected the sentiments of the people, contrary to the Indian government’s narrative.”

    And so, Qureshi added, the Indian government lacked the courage to let it happen.

    “They were worried.”

    Giving the example of the Indian authorities slapping sedition charges on Kashmiri students after they celebrated Pakistan’s win in the T20 World Cup match against India, Qureshi said the incident showed that the “paths of the people and government of occupied Kashmir were different”.

  • PM urges OIC, world to take notice of IIOJK

    PM urges OIC, world to take notice of IIOJK

    Describing the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and Palestine as a “huge injustice of history,” Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said it was important for the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the world to take steps to correct it.

    he premier said this while talking to a delegation of the OIC Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) led by its chair Dr Saeed Al Ghufli that called on him here.

    He expressed grave concern about the egregious violations of human rights in IIOJK, which had assumed alarming proportions over the last two years.

    The prime minister shared his deep anguish over the hardships being endured by the people of occupied territory, especially since August 5, 2019, when India took “illegal and unilateral” measures in IIOJK.

    “The people of IIOJK, demanding their inalienable right to self-determination promised to them under numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions, are being brazenly brutalised, extra-judicially killed, injured, maimed, tortured and arbitrarily detained,” PM Imran said.

  • Saudi Arabia agrees to Resume Oil Aid Facility to Pakistan

    Saudi Arabia agrees to Resume Oil Aid Facility to Pakistan

    The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has decided to resume the yearly oil aid facility worth around $1.5 billion to Pakistan in July, Financial Times reported.

    The move is part of Riyadh’s efforts to counter Iran’s influence in the region.

    In the previous year, the KSA had asked Pakistan to repay a loan of $3 billion after the latter had pressured the former to criticize India’s cancellation of a loan.

    The tensions between the two countries were resolved in May this year after Prime Minister Imran Khan had visited the KSA and met the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

    The KSA is making diplomatic efforts along with the United States and Qatar to build a front against Iran and had lifted a three-year blockade of Qatar in January as part of the same efforts.

    Pakistan has also been making efforts to build diplomatic relations with Turkey – a regional rival of the KSA – along with Malaysia, to create an Islamist bloc to rival the Saudi-led Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

  • PM Imran and senator Sanders raise voice for IOK

    PM Imran and senator Sanders raise voice for IOK

    The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, and the Democratic candidate of the 2020 US elections, Sanders, jointly stated that they demean India’s annexation over the unoccupied Kashmir territory. Both the leaders gave the statement on their address to the 56th Convention of Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).

    The senator briefed that he is very much concerned about the situation that goes inside the Kashmir territory. He addressed the communication backdrop and the exploitation is done in the region by the Indian Forces. Kashmiris no longer have the availability of health care commodities due to the crackdown situation. The doctors acknowledge that in the name of security, the Indian government is taken the medical care assets of the Kashmiris away from them. Sanders emphasized that an end must be put to the communication ban in the Kashmir region. He further stated that the US government must address this ongoing barbary in Kashmir.

    Furthermore, the Prime Minister of Pakistan in his video address to the conference said that it is the need of the time that we understand the dirty motto of the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) party. Moreover, he declared that from his end he is trying the best of efforts to help people learn about this propaganda that now rules over the whole of India. He accentuated that as a considerable country in the west it is your task to make the western society recognize RSS truthfully. Consecutively, Imran Khan stated that he has entreated the OIC to perform the role in its hands given the current situation. He also envisions raising this issue in the United Nations General Assembly.

  • Saudi Arabia shall always be our Friend – PM Imran Khan

    Saudi Arabia shall always be our Friend – PM Imran Khan

    Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Thursday that Saudi Arabia shall always be a friend of Pakistan despite the government’s recent criticism of the OIC over the Kashmir Issue. ‘Saudi Arabia will always be a friend of Pakistan’, he said in an interview.  He said that Kashmir was a conflict entirely between Pakistan and India and that if it worsens, it might carry effects on the rest of the world. The parts that are quiet on the issue, are major because they’re worried about their commercial interests, he stated.

    He also talked about the recent deal between Israel and the UAE saying that the issue shall keep growing even if some countries go on to recognize Israel as a state.  About the crackdown on the media in Pakistan and intimidation of journalists, the Prime Minister said that no other government in the country’s history had been prey to such criticism. He added that it were the ministers who were unprotected and not the media.

    When asked about the status of CPEC, the prime minister said that Islamabad’s relationship with Beijing was ‘better than ever.’ He clarified that in no way was Islamabad re-settling its ties with the United States and that each country looks for the maximum benefits for itself. He said that Pakistan had the ‘best relationship’ with the US right now as to both being the partners in peace in Afghanistan. He never took it as either China or the United States.