Qureshi calls for taking immediate decisions to avert a dire humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD, Dec 15 (SABAH): Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi has called for taking immediate decisions to avert a dire humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan is hosting the extraordinary session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers on Sunday to apprise the world of Afghan situation.

He said apart from the OIC members, permanent members of the UN Security Council and representatives of the UN Agencies and important European countries have also been invited to this moot.

He warned if seriousness was not demonstrated, the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan could assume serious proportions. He said the economic collapse of Afghanistan is quite visible and the dire situation there will impact not only Pakistan but the whole region.

The Foreign Minister said the international agencies are also warning if immediate attention was not paid, 97 percent of Afghan people will be below the poverty line by mid of next year.

Meanwhile a high level meeting, chaired by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad, reviewed arrangements for holding the Extraordinary Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Islamabad on Sunday.

Expressing satisfaction over the arrangements, the Foreign Minister directed to further improve them.

Speaking on the occasion, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Pakistan is going to host an extraordinary session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers after forty-one years.

He said the conference will provide an opportunity to discuss and find ways to deal with impending humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and bring stability to the country.