OIC committed to peaceful resolution of conflicts

Islamabad : Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has said that OIC hitherto contributed extensively in conflict mitigation though unlike United Nations, it did not possess the mandate to contemplate, suggest or initiate kinetic actions.

Mr Shaikh was addressing a webinar on “OIC and prospects of joint Islamic action in contemporary world” organised by Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) here Wednesday.

Mr Sheikh said that 70 to 80 per cent of the active conflicts in the world right now involved Muslim populations at the risk of being affected, which automatically entailed that the role and function of the OIC was important, now, more than ever. The organisation’s work, particularly with reference to Kashmir and Palestine issues had gained impetus over the last few years, he said adding that considering the genesis of both the issues, the differences amongst the two had become immaterial and that both Palestine and Kashmir had striking resemblances in terms of manner of occupation, exertion of power by the occupants and illegal settlements in respective disputed territories.

Mr Sheikh opined that while the OIC was indispensably amenable to Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir issue, especially after the August 5th adventurism by the Indian forces, the resolution of the issue was fundamentally reliant on the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, leaving the OIC with only extending political and diplomatic support for the cause. In similitude, he observed, the fact that Palestine issue was treated as an “Arab” issue, inadvertently resulted in Arab League taking charge of the issue which basically limited the scope of the conflict thereby minimising the chances of its resolution. Had the Palestine issue been entirely taken up by the OIC, it would have gathered larger projection and audience, enabling swift discussions regarding its resolution, he stressed.

The Pak envoy said that OIC was committed to voice up against the contemporary challenges affecting Muslims across the globe and not just in the member countries and as it was an organisation that took birth in the aftermath of a major conflict itself, ie, the Arab-Israel war, the organisation stood positive in tackling the challenges in its way.

Dr Usman Chohan, Director Economic Affairs and National Development at CASS, Islamabad, emphasised the role of Islamic Development Bank. He said that the IDB had a pristine international rating and that while the performance of the multilateral institution thus far was commendable, it had the potential of doing more for OIC member countries. A conservative operational framework, he added, would have been justifiable had the countries in the Islamic world been mostly developed which was not the case in reality.

Dr Zafar Nawaz Jaspal from Quaid-i-Azam University said that while it was true that the OIC was expected to serve as a consolidated voice of all Muslim countries, expecting the organisation to assist in the resolution of long-outstanding issues such as Kashmir was a little ludicrous as its resolution was inherently affiliated with the SC resolutions.