Ukraine crisis: Pakistani PM urges Islamic nations to mediate in war

Imran Khan was speaking at the start of a two-day gathering in Islamabad of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

By AP

Published: Tue 22 Mar 2022, 4:55 PM

Pakistan’s prime minister on Tuesday urged foreign ministers from Muslim-majority nations to help end Russia’s war in Ukraine, appealing also on China’s top diplomat to join the effort.

Imran Khan spoke at the start of a two-day gathering in Islamabad of the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (IOC), which for the first time saw the attendance of China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, as a special guest.

The war in Ukraine “could have great consequences for the world,” Khan warned and added that the rest of the planet is “already suffering,” with surging prices of oil, gas and wheat from a region known as the breadbasket of the world.

He urged the ministers to “mediate, try to bring about a cease-fire and an end to the conflict.”

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi met separately with his Chinese counterpart, the ministry said. The two “discussed the situation in Ukraine and reiterated the need for a solution through sustained dialogue and diplomacy,” the ministry said.

Khan also reiterated his plea for the international community to help neighbouring Afghanistan, which has been struggling with an economic meltdown and severe shortages of food and medicines since the Taliban takeover in mid-August.

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“A stable Afghanistan is the only way that we are going to tackle international terrorism from Afghan soil,” said Khan. “It is extremely important that we help the people of Afghanistan.”

The Taliban did not send their top envoy, Amir Khan Muttaqi, to the meeting in Islamabad but a lower level Taliban official.