PM Imran Khan to address OIC session, welcomes participants

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday welcomed the participants of the extraordinary session of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Islamabad over a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, ARY NEWS reported.

In a message from his Twitter handle, the prime minister said that he welcomes delegations from OIC member states, observers, friends, partners and international organizations to Pakistan.

“The extraordinary session of OIC CFMs is an expression of solidarity with the Afghan [people] & to focus our collective energies on addressing the dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan,” he said.

PM Imran Khan further said that he was looking forward to speaking at the OIC session.

I look forward to speaking at the Conference. #OICInPakistan #OIC4Afg

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) December 18, 2021

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi earlier in the day said the objective of the upcoming Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is to find solutions to the impending humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan.

Speaking to the media, the minister said senior officials of the OIC states will meet in Islamabad this evening to deliberate an agenda and work plan for the conference being hosted by Pakistan in Islamabad tomorrow.

437 delegates have so far got themselves registered for the OIC moot, he added.

“Tomorrow’s conference will be important and historic because we are standing at a crucial juncture in history where if we take steps in the right direction, there will be peace in the region and an era of stability and prosperity can return in Afghanistan,” Qureshi maintained.

If timely steps are not taken, he warned Afghanistan could descend into a new crisis that will not be limited to the war-torn country but also affect neighbouring countries and spill over into entire Europe.