Islamabad, March 22, 2022 (PPI-OT):Prime Minister Imran Khan has emphatically stated that strong voice of the OIC as representative body of 1.5 billion population is crucial to address lingering issues of Kashmir and Palestine.
In his keynote address at the 48th Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Islamabad on Tuesday, he said the Muslim countries should not drag themselves into bloc politics and rather show their power for bringing peace in the world.
The Prime Minister regretted that the Muslim Ummah has failed to make any impact for the resolution of Kashmir and Palestine disputes. He said the international community promised the Kashmiris to decide their future, regretting that the special status was also taken away illegally by India on 5th August 2019.The Prime Minister made it clear that altering the demography of the population by turning the majority Kashmiri Muslims into minority is a war crime under Geneva Convention.
Regarding Afghanistan, the Prime Minister said a stable Afghan government is the only way to stop international terrorism emanating from its soil. He termed the stability in Afghanistan as extremely important and called the lifting of international sanctions to avert humanitarian crisis looming in Afghanistan. He also urged the international community to help the Afghan people in resolving the issues.
On the Ukraine situation, the Prime Minister said the OIC, China and all the non-partisan countries should use their influence to resolve the crisis. Imran Khan said he will hold a discussion with the visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on how China and OIC can step in to mediate towards a ceasefire of Ukraine war.
The Prime Minister especially congratulated the OIC members, over the landmark resolution passed at the United Nations for declaring March 15 as the Day to Combat Islamophobia. The Prime Minister stressed that Islam does not equate terrorism and rejects the notion of differentiating between a “moderate and terrorist Muslim”.
He pointed out that the 9/11 incident led to demonizing of Muslims across the world and also dismissed the criticism against Muslims on denying the right of freedom of expression to those who mocked or ridiculed the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).
The Prime Minister mentioned that one of the ideals of the OIC is to protect Islamic values, however, expressed concern over the culture of obscenity on social media. Imran Khan sought consideration by the Islamic platform to suggest ways for combating vulgarity, impacting the social values and family system.
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