Organization of Islamic Cooperation to hold meeting on Afghanistan
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Hussain Qureshi, has called for an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), an international organization representing 57 countries, 49 of which are majority Muslim, to address instability in Afghanistan.
After the Taliban takeover of Kabul, the United States froze $9.5 billion in Afghan assets. This move, coupled with the collapse of the country’s banking system, has led to wide-spread instability and a lack of basic resources for the Afghan people.
Over 1.4 million Afghan refugees currently reside in Pakistan. Despite measures taken to slow the outflow of Afghan refugees, the Pakistani government fears a mass exodus to Pakistan is imminent.
Today’s meeting will likely center on ways to stabilize Afghanistan. A lack of basic resources has left a large number of Afghans starving, and the recent 50,000 tonnes of wheat delivered to the country is not enough to stop the crisis. Expect Pakistan and the other meeting members to establish methods for non-monetary international aid to be supplied to the country. To avoid the possibility of funds being misappropriated, mechanisms to supply material aid such as supplying food may help alleviate the famine and slow the flow of refugees out of the country.
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