Calling for unity in the Islamic world, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said a strong voice from the platform of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as the representative body of 1.5 billion Muslims was crucial to address the lingering disputes of Kashmir and Palestine.
“We have failed both the Palestinians and Kashmiris. I am sad that we have not been able to make an impact despite being the massive voice of 1.5 billion [people],” the prime minister said in his keynote address at the 48th annual session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) after Pakistan assumed the chair of the OIC body.
The two-day summit of the 57-nation bloc is being held at Parliament House under the theme of “Building Partnerships for Unity, Justice, and Development”. The session on Tuesday highlighted the challenges facing the Muslim world and the opportunities which could be seized through joint efforts.
OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha, Islamic Development Bank President Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser and Saudi and Chinese foreign ministers Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud and Wang Yi were among the participants.
The prime minister, who commenced his speech with a prayer seeking guidance from Allah for the righteous path, focused on issues including Islamophobia, global conflicts and the situation in Afghanistan, occupied Kashmir, Palestine and Ukraine.
Khan pointed out the international community had decades ago made a pledge with the people of Kashmir to help them decide their fate.
However, he regretted the status of the region had been changed illegally with the residents experiencing gross rights violations.
“I ask OIC that unless we have a united front, we keep having seen these abuses,” he said, adding that altering the demography of a population by turning the Muslim majority into a minority was a war crime under Geneva Convention.
He warned the world was heading towards a second Cold War with the chances of the countries being divided into blocs. “Unless we, as an Islamic platform, get united, we will stand nowhere,” he warned.
Commenting on the crisis in Ukraine, he proposed to consider ways where the OIC nations along with China could play their role in diffusing the violence.
Khan said he will later hold a discussion with Yi on how China and OIC together could step in to mediate a ceasefire and end the conflict which had already started impacting the world in the form of a historical rise in prices of oil, gas and wheat.
In Afghanistan, the stability of the country was extremely important after the 40 years of conflict, said the prime minister as he called for the lifting of international sanctions to avert the looming humanitarian crisis.
He said the only way to stop terrorism in, and coming from, Afghanistan was to encourage and support a stable government in place.
“As a word of caution, please do not push the proud and independent-minded people of Afghanistan [towards the extreme]. Let us help them and involve in the international community,” he said.
Khan stressed that self-belief could help the Islamic world revive its glory to address their common challenges.
The prime minister welcomed the visiting foreign ministers at the OIC platform which coincided with the occasion of Pakistan Day.
He congratulated the bloc over getting Islamophobia recognised at the United Nations as a global threat and setting March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
The resolution, adopted last Tuesday by consensus by the 193-member world body and co-sponsored by 55 mainly Muslim countries, emphasises the right to freedom of religion and belief and recalls a 1981 resolution calling for “the elimination of all forms of intolerance and of discrimination based on religion or belief”.
The date, he mentioned, was in connection with the terror attack at two New Zealand mosques on March 15, 2019, when a white supremacist killed 51 worshippers and injured dozens of others.
The prime minister stressed that Islam did not permit terrorism and rejected the notion of differentiating between a “moderate and terrorist Muslim”.
“The moment someone describes as moderate Muslims automatically tags others as radical,” he said, urging the Muslim countries to take a stand on this.
He emphasised that there were no two types of Islam and Muslims, but the one taught through the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.).
He pointed out the 9/11 attacks led to demonising of Muslims across the world and said that mocking or ridiculing the prophet in the name of freedom of expression could not be justified.
Khan said Pakistan was the only country that was created in the name of Islam with its Objective Resolution based on the vision of the religion’s first socio-welfare state of Medina.
He said Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) was sent to the world as a blessing for the entire humanity and not specific for the Muslims only.
