It is an important moment for Pakistan to be hosting this prestigious event in the capital at a time when the world is once again gripped with new global challenges in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While all eyes remain on this conflict and the new power dynamics it is unleashing, the situation in Afghanistan appears to have fallen out of the global news cycle.
PAKISTAN will be hosting the 48th meeting of the OIC Conference of Foreign Ministers (CFM) from March 22 to 23 this year, which will coincide with the 75th anniversary celebrations of Pakistan Day.
This event will highlight Pakistan’s consistent commitment to the principles and purposes of the OIC, in particular to foster greater unity and solidarity within the Muslim world so as to address the multiple challenges facing the ummah.
As a founding member of the OIC, which was established in September 1969 in response to the Israeli terrorist attacks on Al Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, Pakistan has been at the forefront of the OIC’s efforts to champion Muslim causes — from freedom of the Palestinian and Kashmiri peoples struggling under foreign occupation, to upholding the rights of Muslims in Myanmar and Bosnia, to ending conflicts in Muslim lands such as Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and Libya. Pakistan has also played a key role in the OIC, the second largest international organisation after the UN with 57 member states, to combat transnational threats such as Islamophobia, the Covid pandemic and poverty.
A measure of Pakistan’s commitment to the OIC has been its hosting of several events of the organisation, including the Second OIC Summit in 1974 and the Second Extraordinary OIC Summit in 1997, as well as meetings of the CFM in 1970, 1980, 1993 and 2007.
Pakistan is also the headquarters of the OIC Commission on Science and Technology (Comstech) and the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Moreover, Pakistan played a pivotal role in the formation of the Islamic Development Bank, the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission and the Observatory on Islamophobia.
The 48th CFM in Islamabad will be guided by the theme of ‘partnering for unity, justice and development’ and will consider over 100 resolutions on major contemporary issues facing the OIC.
Pakistan’s endeavour during the CFM would be to promote greater unity and a common sense of purpose to address multiple challenges before the Muslim world; promote the cause of justice for all Muslims, such as the ones in Palestine and Kashmir; encourage cooperation for the promotion of development and prosperity in the Muslim world in keeping with the SDGs; and ensure complete recovery from the Covid pandemic. From Pakistan’s perspective, the forthcoming CFM would be especially important to underscore two specific issues — the realisation of the right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people and the need to effectively combat the rising threat of Islamophobia.
