The first day of the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was held in Islamabad on Tuesday and will wrap up on Wednesday.

On the first day, participants discussed a range of issues, including Afghanistan. A delegation from Afghanistan attended this meeting.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said support should be mobilized to address the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

“Addressing the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and preventing a collapse of the Afghan economy must remain our top priorities,” he said. “In doing so, we must encourage and support the efforts of the Afghan authorities to eliminate Daesh. Effective strategies are also needed to deal with other terrorist groups in Afghanistan,” he said.

Meanwhile, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at the IOC meeting called for the unity of the Islamic world to deal with problems faced by Muslims across the globe and to bring peace.

Talking about the Afghanistan issue, Khan said that the country has suffered a long conflict, adding that helping Afghanistan amid a humanitarian crisis and removing sanctions are important, as is fighting terrorism.

Talking about Afghanistan, he said that efforts should be made to bring stability to the country, adding that Muslim countries should continue providing financial support to Afghanistan.

OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha said the organization continues to engage with the Islamic Emirate in order to help achieve lasting peace in Afghanistan. “We shall continue dialogue with the authorities in Afghanistan and with international partners with the objective to achieve peace, security and development in this member country of the OIC,” he said.  

Mukhtar Tileuberdi, Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan, said his country is worried about the situation in Afghanistan and that Kazakhstan will do everything in its capacity to stabilize the situation in Afghanistan. “Kazakhstan like many other OIC states is concerned about the situation in Afghanistan,” he said. “Socio-economic and financial issues need to be addressed urgently to prevent a large-scale humanitarian crisis in the region.”

Muhammad Sulaiman Al-Jaser, president of the Islamic Development Bank, speaking about the operationalization of the Afghan Trust Fund established by the OIC to coordinate humanitarian funds for Afghanistan, said the humanitarian crisis in the country serious.

“Given the gravity of the challenges facing Afghanistan today, no single entity or institution can tackle them alone,” he said, stressing that the international community needs to collectively provide a holistic, practical, sustainable, and comprehensive solution.