Bilawal lauds OIC’s role for Muslim Ummah

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Saturday said that the issues of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K) and Palestine had been the unfished agenda of the United Nations and stressed upon the international community to work together to resolve them peacefully in resolutions, reported local media. 

Addressing a joint presser with Secretary General of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein Brahim Taha, the foreign minister said that they were grateful to the OIC GS for undertaking his first bilateral visit to Pakistan.

He expressed the hope that his visit to Azad Kashmir would send a message to the entire world that the entire Ummah stood united with the people of IIOJ&K. It would be a stark reminder to the UN and the international community about the long-standing unfinished agenda which required global community’s collective efforts for peaceful resolution.

About his meeting with the OIC secretary general, the foreign minister said that they held fruitful exchange of views on different issues confronting the Muslim Ummah.

Earlier, Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein Brahim Taha on Saturday arrived here on a three-day visit. Taking place at the invitation of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, this is his first country visit since assuming office in November 2021. At the airport, he was received by Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to OIC Rizwan Saeed Sheikh and Director General OIC Farrukh Iqbal Khan. During the visit, the OIC chief would hold a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and hold talks with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Accompanied by a five-member delegation, Hissein Brahim Taha will also visit Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

The meetings with ministers for Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan Affairs, information technology, and commerce is also on his agenda.

The Foreign Office said that during bilateral talks, the OIC secretary-general and the foreign minister would discuss inter alia issues on the agenda of OIC including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, Islamophobia, and the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

Pakistan as a founding member of OIC will continue to make efforts to promote Islamic solidarity, unity, and dialogue in the organisation.