Retired Maj.-Gen. Muhammad Azam, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, has requested the Nigerian government’s assistance in ending the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan at the 17th Extraordinary Session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Azam made the call in a statement issued by the High Commission in Abuja and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday, announcing that the OIC would be held on December 19 in Islamabad, Pakistan.
The Ambassador expressed confidence in Nigeria’s contribution to the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers session in Islamabad to resolve the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and galvanize international support.
According to the statement, the High Commissioner expresses his excitement about Nigeria’s participation in the Session, which will be preceded by a Senior Official Meeting on December 18 to determine the needs and assistance required.
Nigeria has been invited as a permanent member of the OIC and has the experience and wisdom to effectively contribute to this meeting and come up with recommendations and resolutions that will persuade the international community and donor countries of the need to intervene to alleviate the suffering of the Afghan people.
“The meeting, convened by Saudi Arabia as OIC President and welcomed by Pakistan, is expected to be attended by all OIC Member and Observer States, the UN system, International Financial Institutions, and some non-member States, including the UN Security Council’s five permanent members, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.”
“The goal is to draw the international community’s attention to the fact that the unfolding situation in Afghanistan is not only a humanitarian challenge, but it may also exacerbate the security situation, causing instability, mass exodus of refugees, and negatively affecting regional and international peace and security,” he said.
Azam further recalled that Pakistan convened the first Extraordinary Session of the OIC Foreign Ministers on the situation in Afghanistan in January 1980, and that it was conducting the same meeting 42 years later.
He went on to say that it was in an effort to help contain and reverse the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, particularly in terms of food shortages, displacement, and potential economic collapse.
According to UN estimates, 38 million Afghans, or 60% of the total population, are now at risk of famine, and 3 million Afghan children are malnourished.
It went on to say that the upcoming harsh winter would exacerbate the population’s health and living conditions, potentially escalating into the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
The High Commissioner stated that his country expects full support from OIC member states and the international community in order to provide the necessary assistance to the Afghan people.
He stated that the Extraordinary Session would provide an opportunity to consider practical and concrete steps to help address these people’s humanitarian needs.
“Concrete pledges of financial and in-kind support from the international community, including OIC Member States, will be critical,” he said.