OIC nations pledge fund to prevent Afghanistan economic collapse

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has pledged to set up a humanitarian trust fund for Afghanistan as millions face hunger and poverty.

The crisis is causing alarm with billions of dollars in aid and assets frozen by the international community after the Taliban takeover of the country in August this year.“Unless action is taken immediately, Afghanistan is heading for chaos,” Prime Minister Imran Khan, of Pakistan – which is holding the summit, told a meeting of foreign ministers from the OIC.“Any government when it can’t pay its salaries for its public servants, hospitals, doctors, nurses, any government is going to collapse but chaos suits no one, it certainly does not suit the United States.”

An OIC resolution released after the meeting said the Islamic Development Bank would lead the effort to free up assistance by the first quarter of 2022. It also



urged Afghanistan’s rulers to abide by “obligations under international human rights covenants, especially with regards to  rights of women, children, youth, elderly and people with special needs”. 

The OIC meeting did not give the new Taliban government any formal international recognition and Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was excluded from official photograph taken during the event. Muttaqi said his government “has the right to be officially recognised”. 

“The current Afghanistan government is cooperating with every foreign organisation,” he told reporters, adding that sanctions “must be removed”. In a speech to delegates, he said US freezing of assets “is a clear violation of human rights of Afghans, and can be interpreted as enmity with an entire nation”.