OIC secretary general, Pakistan's top diplomat discuss Islamophobia, Afghanistan

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - The Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, on Saturday, discussed a variety of regional and international issues ranging from Islamophobia to Kashmir and from Palestine to Afghanistan.

While leading a five-member OIC delegation, Taha arrived in Islamabad on Sunday morning on a three-day maiden visit to Pakistan and its controlled part of Jammu and Kashmir.

This is his first country visit to Pakistan since assuming office in November last year.

Soon after his arrival, the OIC delegation held a meeting with Islamabad's top diplomat at the Foreign Ministry.

Later, addressing a joint stakeout, Taha said the OIC has been in "constant" touch with the Taliban government to find out a solution to the "concerns" of the international community, particularly women's education.

"They (Taliban) are responsive to some of our concerns," Taha said in reply to a question about the Taliban's response to the OIC's engagement in Afghanistan without elaborating on the issue.

"This is obviously not an easy situation, but we (will) keep discussing the issues with them to find out a solution," he maintained.

Bilawal, for his part, reiterated Islamabad's demand for the de-freezing of Afghanistan's 7 billion dollars assets frozen by the US following the re-capture of Kabul by the Taliban in August last year.

The international community, he went on to say, "must " engage the Taliban government and not "wash their hands" as they did in the past and "left Afghanistan in chaos."

"There is a humanitarian crisis developing in Afghanistan. Therefore, the international community must engage with the interim government in Afghanistan to avert the crisis," he maintained.

Eulogizing the OIC's mission in the war-torn country, Bilawal observed that the Jeddah-based organization is the "right" platform to be exploited to improve the situation in Afghanistan.

"The situation ( in Afghanistan) is obviously complex. But we must not give up. Rather, we should engage them (Taliban) on issues of terrorism, girls' education and others," he further said.

- Palestine and Kashmir

Oxciriating the fresh wave of violence against Palestinians, Bilawal said Islamabad would continue to support the just struggle of Palestinians.
Using the occasion to raise the longstanding Kashmir dispute, he accused longtime rival India of committing the "worst" kind of human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.

He urged the global community to play their role in resolving the lingering dispute "in line with the UN resolutions."

Taha said the OIC has always supported Pakistan's stand on Kashmir, which has been a simmering issue for decades.

The OIC Secretary General will also call on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during his visit.