Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan criticized the position of Islamic countries on the main issues in the Islamic world, foremost of which is the Palestinian issue and the Kashmir issue, calling for an end to the division between Islamic countries so that they can have an influential role in the world.

Addressing the opening session of the 48th session of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which began today in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, he said, "We have failed both the Palestinians and the people of Kashmir. It saddens me to say that we have not been able to make any impact at all."

He attributed this to the fact that "Western countries did not take the Organization of Islamic Cooperation seriously, because we are a divided house, and these forces know that."

He added, "We Muslims are 1.5 billion people, yet our voice in stopping this blatant injustice is meaningless."

"International law stands with the people of Palestine and Kashmir, and UN Security Council resolutions support the right of Kashmiris to self-determination through referendum. However, these rights have never been guaranteed by the international community," Khan said.

The Pakistani Prime Minister touched on stripping India of the part of Kashmir under its control of its special status in August 2019, saying, "Nothing has happened because India does not feel any pressure."

He also cautioned that India "is working to change the demographics of occupied Kashmir by bringing in settlers from abroad, but no one has paid about that because they think we are ineffective."

Khan warned that unless the OIC is united on the core issues, human rights violations will continue, such as those occurring in broad daylight in Palestine.

Parliament headquarters in Pakistan hosts the annual session of the Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (Anatolia)

Islamophobia

Khan began his speech by congratulating the Muslim world on the adoption of a resolution against Islamophobia by the United Nations General Assembly, which declared March 15 the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, expressing his hope that "the Muslim community will from now on present its narrative to the West and explain the reason for the actions." Anti-Islam "He said the world now realizes that Islamophobia is a reality, and more work is needed to combat it."

Khan spoke about the global situation, expressing his concerns that the world was "going in the wrong direction".

"A new cold war is about to begin and the world can be divided into blocks," he said, stressing that unless 1.5 billion Muslims take a unified position, "we will not be anywhere."

He said, "No other people has suffered like the people of Afghanistan, and for the first time in 40 years, there is no longer a conflict in the war-torn country," warning that "the only danger now is the sanctions imposed on Afghanistan and lack of recognition, which may cause in a humanitarian crisis.

He added that it was "very important" to achieve stability in Afghanistan because it was "the only way we can stop international terrorism from Afghan soil."

Khan called on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to encourage the Afghan people and integrate them into the international community, saying he believed that "the people of Afghanistan are strong enough to develop and go in the right direction."

Khan addressed in his speech the Russian war on Ukraine, and suggested that the foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation discuss in their session how the organization can "mediate and try to achieve a ceasefire and end the conflict."

He warned that if the war continued, it would have "serious consequences for the world," stressing that "all non-partisan countries are in a special position to influence this conflict."

For his part, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in his speech at the opening session, stressed that the OIC is a "bridge between Islamic countries and the rest of the world," and pointed out that Muslims' resentment is growing due to repeated foreign interventions in Islamic countries, explaining that "more Two-thirds of all refugees worldwide come from only 5 countries: Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Myanmar and Somalia,” Qureshi said. “Islamic countries are currently hosting the largest number of refugees.”

The minister urged the need for similar determination and unity to confront what he described as hateful ideologies such as Islamophobia and right-wing racism.

"The repeated desecration of the Holy Qur'an and the reprinting of cartoons have seriously damaged the feelings of Muslims around the world. It is also causing great suffering in the Islamic world," he said.

The two-day annual meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which includes in its membership 57 Islamic countries, is held and the current session is held under the title "Building Partnerships for Unity, Justice and Development".

About 46 member states are participating in the session at the ministerial level, while the rest are represented by senior officials in the ministries of foreign affairs.