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Indonesia calls on Taliban to set out reforms at OIC meeting
The Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has established a humanitarian trust fund for Afghanistan through the Islamic Development Bank in hopes of assisting the isolated country.
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Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi (second right) speaks with top Taliban representative Amir Khan Muttaqi (second left) on the margins of an emergency meeting of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Dec. 19, 2021. (Courtesy of Foreign Ministry/-)
T
he Taliban should work with partners to set out plans for reform so that countries can begin mobilizing support for Afghanistan, Indonesia’s top diplomat said on Sunday at an extraordinary ministerial meeting of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the Afghan crisis.
The militant group, which retook the Islamic emirate after the United States withdrew from the country and the government it had backed collapsed, has struggled to win favor globally and repair Afghanistan’s economy amid concerns of impending widespread famine.
But even amid ongoing international sanctions and accusations that the new regime has reversed progress for women, countries from the Muslim world have gathered in an effort to prevent the situation in Afghanistan from deteriorating further and upsetting regional and international stability.
The Sunday OIC meeting, held four months after the Taliban took over the conflict-ravaged country, was held in Islamabad, the capital of neighboring Pakistan.
At least 24 representatives of OIC member states at the ministerial and deputy level attended the meeting in person, including Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi.
The group’s 57 members states agreed to establish a humanitarian trust fund for Afghanistan through the Islamic Development Bank and to appoint the OIC assistant secretary general for humanitarian, cultural and family affairs as the group’s special envoy for Afghanistan.
“The OIC has a moral responsibility to take concrete steps to help the Afghan people,” Retno said in a briefing after the talks.
