ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday urged Muslim countries to mobilize humanitarian aid and press Kabul to take verifiable steps against terrorism as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Afghanistan held its inaugural session on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
The Contact Group was established in December 2021 at an extraordinary session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Islamabad, convened after the Taliban takeover of Kabul.
Pakistan, which shares a 2,600-km border with Afghanistan and has hosted millions of Afghan refugees for decades, has consistently pressed the international community not to isolate Kabul. At the same time, relations between the two neighbors have been strained by a recent surge in militant attacks inside Pakistan, which authorities say are launched from Afghan territory. Kabul denies this.
“The OIC Group must advocate for adequate funding by the international donors to meet Afghanistan’s humanitarian aid requirements without any political considerations,” Pakistani foreign minister and deputy prime minister Ishaq Dar said in his speech, according to an official transcript.
The minister said OIC states should help stabilize Afghanistan’s economy and revive its banking system to create conditions for trade and regional connectivity. He also commended UN-led initiatives to support former poppy farmers with alternative livelihoods, urging the OIC to back these efforts.
