Afghanistan's situation demands continued attention in view of implications for regional peace, Dar tells OIC moot

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Tuesday that the situation in Afghanistan demanded continued attention, particularly considering its implications for regional peace, security and stability. Dar was addressing the meeting of the OIC’s Contact Group on Afghanistan on the sidelines of the 81st session of United Nations General Assembly in New York. Dar recalled that in Aug 2021, Afghanistan saw a “watershed moment” as the US troops withdrew from the country and the Afghan Taliban returned to the helm in Kabul. He said Pakistan was the first country to “open its doors to our Afghan brothers at the time”. Dar added that Pakistan had also hosted an OIC session in December 2021 to garner Muslim countries’ support and mobilise international support to address the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

“It was hoped that the Taliban would honour Afghanistan’s international obligations and their own commitment for eliminating terrorism, promoting inclusivity and protecting the human rights of its citizens. However, the expectations of the OIC members and the larger international community have remained unfulfilled,” he said. He said the Afghan Taliban had failed to seize the opportunity to integrate Afghanistan with the wider world and the improve the lives of the Afghan people “due to their misplaced priorities and flawed ideologies”. “We can help Afghanistan and should help Afghanistan to integrate into the international community,” he said, adding that the Afghan Taliban were required to first take steps for creating a conducive environment to this end. These steps included concrete and verifiable action to prevent the use of Afghan soil for terrorism against any neighbouring country,…