Says setting up of Afghan Trust Fund, resolution on banking revival great success

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Monday said the establishment of a Trust Fund and a resolution for the Afghan banking system’s revival were great successes achieved by the 17th Extraordinary Session of OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers held Sunday.

The foreign minister, in a statement issued a day after the session chaired by him here, said Allah had bestowed Pakistan great respect and success under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan. He said the participation of 20 foreign ministers, 10 deputy foreign ministers, and 437 delegates was a huge success for Pakistan, and a great breakthrough made with the coordination between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

It is not a matter of the Taliban but 38 million people of Afghanistan. Afghan people are faced with hunger and famine. They urgently need medicine and food,” he remarked. The foreign minister said the schools could also function only when the government would have the resources to pay salaries. He said the United States must review its policy considering the public needs.

He also thanked all relevant institutions and individuals for putting in their efforts to hold the moot including the Foreign Office staffers, National Assembly Speaker, Senate, armed forces, and local and international media for their reporting on the extraordinary session.

The foreign minister also chaired a high-level meeting attended by Special Secretary Foreign Affairs Raza Bashir Tarar and senior ministry officers. The minister congratulated the officers for making excellent arrangements for the extraordinary session on short notice. “I am proud to be leading a team of very competent civil servants and diplomats,” he commented.

He said effective diplomacy was linked with the economic self-dependence which Pakistan was trying to achieve through economic diplomacy. The foreign minister said Pakistan was looking forward to hosting the 48th session of the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers by March next year. He said Pakistan had become a focal point of the world’s attention due to its vibrant foreign policy.