PM reaches Turkey to attend OIC summit on Al-Quds issue

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi left on Tuesday evening for Istanbul to attend the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) special summit on Al-Quds Al-Sharif. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Foreign Secretary Ms. Tehmina Janjua are accompanying him.

High-ranking officials from 48 Muslim countries including 18 Presidents and Premiers will attend the summit. The Presidents from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Palestine, Guinea, Iran, Qatar, Kuwait, Libya, Lebanon, Somalia, Togo, Jordan and Yemen as well as the premiers from Djibouti, Malaysia and Pakistan will attend the extraordinary summit. The Comoros has sent the secretary of state in charge of cooperation with the Arab world, while Oman will be represented by its deputy Prime Minister. The parliament speakers of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan will also attend the summit.

Prime Minister Abbasi will have meeting with host President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the brinks of the summit while Somalia President has also requested meeting with Prime Minister of Pakistan on the sidelines. The event will continue for about four hours and pull aside meeting of Prime Minister Shahid Abbasi with Amir of Qatar, Presidents of Iran and Afghanistan could be possible.

Prime Minister Abbasi will leave Istanbul immediately for London upon conclusion of the summit today (Wednesday). It will be his fourth visit to London ever since he has assumed the office. Shahid Abbasi will have meeting with Nawaz Sharif in London. He will also inquire about the health of ailing Begum Kulsum Nawaz and Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar in London. He will return the capital in the wee hours of Friday, the sources said.

The sources reminded that Istanbul summit follows Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s call on OIC member countries to gather extraordinarily after the US recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The OIC, which was established in 1969 to support a free Palestine, is expected to go beyond messages of condemnation at the summit and prompt the US to abandon its decision that enables the Israeli occupation of Palestine and massacre of Palestinians.

Possible decisions that the OIC could take for a free Palestine are as follow:-

1- Jerusalem is the capital of the Palestinian state.

2- Jerusalem should not be excluded from all regional discussions.

3- Israel is an occupying state and it should withdraw from these territories immediately. No international enterprise can legitimize this occupation.

4- The US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is null and void. Initiatives to halt its implementation should be started urgently and this decision should be made impractical by effective measures.

5- All attempts made and pressure put on Muslim countries to compromise on Jerusalem must be rejected.

6- Jerusalem cannot be seen as a bargaining piece in the name of “peace” or “rapprochement” with Israel, nor can it be up for discussion. Countries that do this should be condemned and put under pressure.

7- Muslim countries should clearly and collectively declare to the world that they reject all initiatives that view Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

8- All negotiations in the name of “peace” with Israel should be ended immediately. Joint political, military and economic projects with Israel should also end.

9- Muslim countries should cut their economic and political ties with Israel.

10- Harsh economic and political pressure must be imposed on the Israeli government, defence of Palestine should be noted as a non-controversial decision, and Israel should be isolated from the region.

11- A historic step should be taken at the extraordinary OIC summit in Istanbul, firm decisions should be made and Muslim countries must demonstrate their political strength and their capability to act independently.

12- OIC member countries should withdraw their ambassadors to the US for “consultations.”

13- Muslim countries should limit, freeze or even end relations with the countries that accept Israel’s occupation of Jerusalem.

14- European countries in particular should be subjected to intense pressure in this regard. Strong lobbying should be initiated immediately.

15- Initiatives should be started in the European Union, Russia and China, and international organisations should be mobilised.

16- The declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is also unacceptable for the Christian world. Therefore, Eastern churches and the Christian clergy should be gathered in Istanbul and a common decision should be made.

17- The US has lost its impartiality in the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The US administration should no longer be considered an interlocutor in Middle East peace talks. All Muslim countries should declare that they will not see the US as a party of peace.

18- Muslim countries should establish a common force to defend Jerusalem, establish a line of defense, and encourage and direct large-scale mass movements. A global pressure mechanism must be mobilised.

19- Muslim countries should establish a common Peace Army, and within this power a unit should be formed under the name of “The Force to Protect Jerusalem.”

20- Muslim countries should establish a “Jerusalem Fund” within the OIC, and the economic dependence of the Palestinian people on Western countries must be ended.

21- The airspace of Muslim countries should be closed to Israeli aircraft, and the sharing of intelligence with Israel and the US should be stopped immediately.

22- Israel’s military interventions in Muslim countries should be responded to harshly, and mechanisms and partnerships should be established to prevent these interventions.

23- Muslim countries must end their conflicts with each other and unite in solidarity against the threats posed by Israel and the US.

24- The headquarters of the OIC must be moved to Istanbul, and Istanbul should run the post of general secretary. The OIC is the second largest inter-governmental organisation after the United Nations with a membership of 57 states spread over four continents. The organisation is the collective voice of the Muslim world.

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus President Mustafa Ak nc and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will also attend as observers. Muslim leaders will discuss “the move in a unified and coordinated manner in the face of these developments affecting the occupied city of Al-Quds [Jerusalem] and its historical, legal and political status”, according to the official website of the organisation.

A final communiqué is expected to be released following the meeting. Based on a working programme received by The News, all heads of delegations will be given an opportunity to give their statement on the issue that is related to the Muslim world.

The extraordinary summit to be held at Lutfi Kirdar Congress Centre will be opened by Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a Chair of the Islamic Summit and Extraordinary Session of the OIC. There are also speeches by OIC Secretary-General Dr Yousef Ahmad Al-Othaimeen, Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas and King Abdullah II of Jordan.

At the end of the day, the summit will adopt the Istanbul Declaration as part of the effort to protect Jerusalem. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will send a “strong message” against the United States decision on Jerusalem, the sources said.

APP adds: Prime Minister Abbasi, later, arrived in Istanbul. The prime minister and his delegation, upon arrival at the Istanbul International Airport, were received by senior officials of Turkish government, Ambassador of Pakistan to Turkey Syrus Sajjad Qazi while other senior embassy officials were also present.