Islamabad: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Tuesday said that India is making efforts to sabotage the forthcoming 48th session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM). He rejected the New Delhi’s explanation of the recent supersonic missile fired into Pakistan as “insufficient”.
Briefing reporters about the preparations for the forthcoming 48th session of the OIC CFM to be held in Islamabad from 22-23 March 2022, Qureshi referred to India’s involvement in sabotaging the efforts of holding the OIC-CFM, saying that he was aware of the diplomats at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad who are making efforts to “subvert and sabotage” the event.
About the recent missile fire into Pakistan, the foreign minister termed India’s investigation on the matter as “insufficient”, adding that China has also raised the issue and called for an investigation.
Qureshi also referred to his telephonic conversation with the United Nations secretary-general on Monday about the Indian missile fired towards Pakistan, adding that concerns were shared with the UN chief on the situation.
He further stated that he had also written a letter to the UN secretary-general and the president of the Security Council on the matter. He asked India to provide complete details in light of the questions already made public with regard to the Indian missile, as well as, the specification, route, and trajectory of the missile. “Why India remained silent until Pakistan demanded an answer,” he questioned, adding that the aftermath of the missile could trigger a war between two nuclear-armed countries. The foreign minister made it clear that Pakistan has no aggressive designs against any country. However, he stressed that it would continue to highlight the issue of acts of terrorism against Pakistan.
He further stated that the United States is aware that there are no direct or indirect negotiations in progress between Pakistan and India, adding that the international community and the US could play a role in this regard to ensure peace and stability in the region.
Responding to a question whether Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman was also arriving on a visit to Pakistan, he termed the reports about the visit by Saudi Crown Prince as rumours. “Who did spread the rumours about his visit,” Qureshi asked, saying that it is meeting of the foreign ministers of the OIC member States and the Crown Prince has no relevance with it.
Qureshi said that at the platform of the 48th OIC-CFM meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan would act as a bridge to promote unity among the Muslim-majority countries and contribute towards finding a way together on common issues facing the Muslim world. He said that Pakistan wants to promote unity among Muslims on this occasion and address other issues, particularly Islamophobia and hate speech. “Pakistan believes that the meeting is being held at a crucial time and we need to make the Muslim voice heard at the international arena,” he added.
Giving further details of the delegates to the OIC-CFM, Qureshi said that so far, 48 confirmations have been received from the OIC member countries, adding that 100 resolutions are expected to be tabled and agreed upon during the OIC-CFM meeting.
He said that the 48th Session of OIC-CFM is being held under the theme of, “Partnering for Unity, Justice, and Development” fully encapsulates these priorities, adding that we will seek to build ‘partnerships’ across the Islamic world, and build bridges of cooperation to address the myriad of challenges confronting the Ummah.
According to him, the OIC had taken a very firm stand on the issue of Palestine and the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He said that a meeting of the Kashmir Contact Group will also be held on the sidelines of the OIC-CFM session, where Pakistan would present observational reports on Kashmir. He said that a Kashmiri delegation will also attend the OIC meeting to inform the Muslim Ummah about the ground realities in the illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
He further stated that Pakistan also intends to get a ministerial resolution passed on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir during the meeting. He added that the resolution aimed at sending a message to those elements who are silent on the issue of Kashmir despite, knowing the ground realities and the atrocities being committed by the Modi regime. He said that it will be our effort that the OIC meeting comes up with a consensus response on Islamophobia and Hijab.
Besides, he added that the moot would also discuss the humanitarian aspect of the situation in Afghanistan where millions of Afghans are at risk of disease and hunger.
Furthermore, the foreign minister stated that Pakistan desires to promote cooperation among the Muslim countries in the fight against corruption, adding that the important session would also review the implementation of the decisions of the previous 47th meeting. “This upcoming OIC-CFM meeting is a reflection of our shared aspirations to ensure peace and progress. Pakistan will continue to work with other OIC member States, towards harnessing our collective ambition into concrete action and to take tangible steps to further strengthen bonds of Islamic solidarity and cooperation,” he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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