https://arab.news/y87hw
- Dar calls for humanitarian funding, trade revival and verifiable steps against terrorism from Afghan soil
- Pakistan highlights Gaza crisis as a ‘defining moment,’ presses for ceasefire and restitution of lands
ISLAMABAD: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Afghanistan on Thursday held its inaugural session in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, where Pakistan’s foreign minister urged member states to mobilize aid, revive trade and banking channels and press Kabul to take verifiable action against militancy.
The group was formed in December 2021 at the extraordinary session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Islamabad, which was convened after the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August 2021. That meeting was attended by foreign ministers from OIC member states and aimed to coordinate Muslim countries’ approach to Afghanistan’s humanitarian and political crisis.
Pakistan, which shares a 2,600-km border with the country and has hosted millions of Afghan refugees for decades, has repeatedly pressed the international community not to isolate Afghanistan and to support stability through humanitarian relief and regional connectivity. At the same time, relations between Islamabad and Kabul have been strained by a recent surge in militant attacks inside Pakistan, which authorities say are launched by groups operating from Afghan territory. The government in Afghanistan denies this.
“Afghanistan cannot remain isolated,” Pakistani foreign minister and deputy prime minister Ishaq Dar said at the inaugural session of the OIC Contact Group on Afghanistan, according to a statement by the foreign ministry in Islamabad.
“The OIC must secure unconditional humanitarian funding, revive trade and banking systems, enhance regional connectivity and promote dialogue for compliance with international obligations.”
The Pakistani foreign minister voiced grave concern over militant groups operating from Afghan soil, warning that they threatened regional peace and security.
He proposed a working group of OIC experts to chart a roadmap for Afghanistan’s stability, underlining that “lasting peace requires sincerity, mutual respect and political will.”
At a separate OIC session on Palestine, Dar described the Gaza crisis as a “defining moment” for the Middle East and the Muslim world. He demanded an immediate ceasefire, unfettered humanitarian access, an end to forced displacement and settlement expansion, and the restitution of lands seized since 1967.
“This is a defining moment for the Middle East and the Muslim world,” he said. “The OIC must press for: first, an immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire by Israel; second, provision of unfettered, sustained and secure humanitarian access to all civilians in need.”
Dar also called for accountability for war crimes, reparations for Palestinians, compliance with International Court of Justice rulings, support for Gaza’s reconstruction, deployment of an international protection mechanism and recognition of an independent Palestinian state on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Pakistan reaffirmed its solidarity with the Palestinian people and said that as a newly elected non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2025-2026, it would continue to prioritize peace in the Middle East and justice for Palestinians.