Muttaqi Calls on OIC Member Nations to Reopen Embassies

Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday called on members of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) to reopen their embassies in Kabul.  

Speaking at the OIC’s 17th summit, held in Islamabad, Muttaqi said that the new Afghan government has control of the entire country and should be recognized by foreign nations, and that it reserves the right to have formal relations with the world.

Attended by foreign ministers, the summit was moderated by Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

“The new government exercising control over the entire country – that has secured its geography and territorial integrity, established security, does not pose a threat to any world country and as a ruling system – reserves the right to have formal relations with the world and be a responsible member of the wider international community,” Muttaqi was quoted in a statement released by the Foreign Ministry.

Muttaqi told the participants that as “member of one family” Afghanistan was ready to listen and accept requests, concerns and advice of the Islamic countries that “can lead towards a proper and just roadmap and direction” to overcome the existing crisis.

He also urged the participants to “remind” the US that the persecution of Afghans, and undermining the Afghan government, “is not in the interest of anyone.”

“This is not conducive to improving ties. Such actions harm American prestige and exacerbate the refugee crisis, the detrimental effects of which will not spare the wider world,” he said

Pakistan Prime Minister Irman Khan during his speech at the summit warned that unless action is taken immediately, Afghanistan is heading for chaos.

Khan also said that the Afghan chaos “suits no one,” certainly not the US.

ISIL is a threat to the region and beyond, he said and added: “We have had attacks from (the) Afghan border, from ISIL, into Pakistan.”  A stable Afghanistan is needed to contain ISIL, he said.

Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai responded to Khan’s statements, calling them “not true” and “obvious propaganda” against Afghanistan. Karzai said that in fact Daesh, from the beginning, has threatened Afghanistan from Pakistan. He told Pakistan not to interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs, nor to speak on Afghanistan’s behalf at international forums.

The secretary general of the OIC, Hissein Brahim, called for a political solution to resolve the Afghan issue that would also meet the demands of the international community.

He also urged the OIC members to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.

Addressing the summit, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu called for efforts to prevent the Afghan economy from collapsing.

According to the Turkish foreign minister, the existing sanctions have crippled the financial system of the country, and funds that have been pledged will be “meaningless” unless the aid reaches Afghans.

Citing the gravity and complexity of Afghanistan’s challenges, Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, chairman of the Islamic Development Bank, told participants that “no single entity or institution can tackle them alone.” “The Islamic Development Bank would be honored to accept the proposed new mandate to manage the Afghanistan Humanitarian Trust Fund,” he said.

Notably, the flag of the Afghan republic–comprised of green, red and black–appeared at the summit among the many other flags of the participating nations. Also noteworthy is that the Afghan foreign minister was not visible in the group photo taken at the end of the conference.