The OIC and the Afghan Enigma

The OIC and the Afghan Enigma

The political, social and economic conditions in Afghanistan have been unpredictable since the fall of Kabul in August this year.

The dilemma of political recognition and legitimacy of the Taliban after the US withdrawal has left Afghanistan in a kind of limbo. The Taliban are under enormous pressure to gain political legitimacy and maintain order in the rapidly deteriorating conditions in the country.

Afghanistan is largely dependent on foreign aid and faces an impending humanitarian crisis after the Afghan central bank's reserves were frozen in billions. Of course, they cannot transition to a functioning local economy overnight. Foreign aid effectively served as an artificial bubble without which the Afghan economy would go astray.

Pakistan recognizes that the situation is rapidly becoming uncontrollable, with more than 22 million people facing food shortages and more than three million children malnourished due to the severe winter. Although Pakistan has sent 50,000 tons of wheat to Afghanistan along with medicines and relief supplies, this is a drop in the ocean compared to the real needs of the Afghan people. The policies of abandonment practiced by the international community in the 1990s did not benefit the Afghan people or the region. Only through commitment and incentives can the Taliban keep their earlier promises to respect human rights.

The consequences of ignoring the crisis in Afghanistan will be civil war and unrest, famine, widespread diseases and people moving to neighboring countries. This is putting a lot of pressure on countries like Pakistan, which are already taking in millions of Afghan refugees. This is the main reason why Pakistan is so loudly calling on the international community and the countries in the region to find a solution to the Afghanistan crisis.

Pakistan has also opened border crossings and expedited visa applications, along with its previous efforts to evacuate more than 80,000 people of 42 different nationalities. On December 4th of this year, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi announced that Pakistan would host a meeting of the OIC Foreign Ministers Council in Islamabad on December 19th, the OIC to commit to economic aid to avert the humanitarian crisis and possible collapse of the Afghan economy. The humanitarian tragedy in Afghanistan has the potential to disrupt the already precarious security situation in the country and lead to regional instability.

On the occasion of this conference, not only representatives of the EU but also special representatives from the P5 countries are invited to build international consensus. The need of the hour is a special regulation within the United Nations Security Council that will make it possible to deliver aid to Afghanistan without violating the existing sanctions against the Taliban regime.

The aim of the OIC meeting is to deal fully with the situation and to seek solutions to Afghanistan's problems. The purpose of the meeting is not just to promise aid, but to find ways to ensure that aid reaches the Afghan people. Its purpose is to ensure that the OIC takes the lead in these humanitarian efforts.

The OIC consists of 57 member states on four continents. It is the second-largest organization in the world and ideally should act as the voice of the Muslim ummah. Its core objectives are to promote international peace and harmony among people, regardless of their religious affiliation.

FM Qureshi, announcing the meeting, said: Given the gravity of the situation, Pakistan has made efforts to host the international event and is aware that the situation will be devastating for Afghanistan and its neighbors if not addressed in a timely manner as well the whole region. Afghanistan faces economic collapse if its frozen assets are not released to meet growing needs. He stressed that the world must learn from its mistakes and that a deepening crisis in Afghanistan could destabilize the region.

The OIC meeting is an important step in listening to other stakeholders such as Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, etc. The expected outcome may not be recognition of the Taliban, but it is at least a step in the right direction to avert the humanitarian catastrophe.

There are major obstacles in the way of humanitarian aid and it is imperative that the OIC work to circumvent them. One of the greatest challenges is to distinguish between the unrecognized Taliban government and the Afghan people. One way to get around this is how the ICRC pumped funds directly into the health, education and community sectors by paying salaries and running costs to hospitals and schools. This is a model that can be beneficial for the OIC to model its support in avoiding violating UN Security Council sanctions.

It is clear that the international community urgently needs to come together and provide aid and assistance to Afghanistan. Ignoring this impending disaster will have dire consequences for the region and the world. In addition, Afghanistan must be offered exemptions in the United Nations Security Council so that aid can be provided without violating existing sanctions. The OICs, acting by consensus and unanimously, wield immense influence, and this meeting can be a landmark event for Afghanistan if members are able to find concrete steps and solutions to deal with the Afghan mystery.