ISLAMABAD: The two-day meeting of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Council of Foreign Ministers ended on Wednesday 23rd March, with affirmation of support for Palestine and Jammu and Kashmir disputes.
OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha, while speaking at a media conference at the end of the 48th meeting of the 57-member body, said: “Palestine remains high on the agenda of OIC and was discussed thoroughly. All participating ministers reiterated their support for the Palestine cause.
“The question of Jammu and Kashmir was thoroughly discussed. This is a just cause. It has our full support. The conference reaffirmed our stance and reiterated support for the right of Kashmiri people to self-determination.”
Forty-six countries participated in the moot at the ministerial level, while the other countries were represented by senior officials. Nearly 800 delegates attended the meeting hosted by Islamabad. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was the special guest at the conference. It was the first time in OIC’s history that a Chinese foreign minister attended its foreign ministers’ meeting, indicating Beijing’s expanding role in the Muslim world.
The meeting agenda included deliberations on the situation in Palestine, Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and Afghanistan. Also, issues pertaining to Africa and Muslims in Europe and developments in Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Syria were taken up at the meeting. Islamophobia, international terrorism and cooperation in economic, cultural, social, humanitarian, and scientific domains were the other subjects that were discussed.
Islamabad Declaration
A wide-ranging Islamabad Declaration containing as many as 70 points was adopted at the meeting by the conference.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, while speaking at the conference, said Palestine and Kashmir were two glaring examples of injustice, oppression, occupation, and human rights violations.
Indian missile fiasco
The OIC foreign ministers also expressed concern over Indian missile striking a building in Pakistani territory on March 9 and put their weight behind Pakistan’s demand for a joint probe with to accurately establish facts.
“We acknowledge Pakistan’s pivotal role as an anchor of stability in South Asia, and commend its role and efforts for promotion of regional peace, based on the UN Charter principles including sovereign equality of States, political independence, non-use or threat of use of force and pacific settlement of disputes,” the foreign ministers noted.
Mr Qureshi said the participation of Chinese foreign minister indicated Beijing’s desire to expand ties with Muslim countries and its willingness to invest about $400 million in Muslim countries under its Belt and Road Initiative. (Courtesy Dawn, March 24th, 2022)