Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said here on Sunday that if the world does not come to the help of Afghanistan, it will unfold a big man-made crisis.

Delivering a keynote speech at the 17th Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in Islamabad to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, Khan said the world should not abandon Afghanistan in the hour of need.

20 Dec 2021; MEMO: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) yesterday pledged to coordinate with the United Nations as part of efforts to free hundreds of millions of US dollars in frozen Afghan assets, to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in the country.

The 57-member OIC delegates said, during an emergency meeting held in Pakistan, they would work "to unlock the financial and banking channels to resume liquidity and flow of financial and humanitarian assistance."

ISLAMABAD, Dec 19 (APP): A specially convened meeting of the 57 member states of the OIC Sunday vowed to play a leading role in delivery of humanitarian assistance to the people of war-torn Afghanistan and unanimously agreed on establishing a Humanitarian Trust Fund, launch a Food Security Programme and engage with the World Health Organization for securing vaccines and medical supplies.

ISLAMABAD, Dec 19 (APP): Prime Minister Imran Khan Sunday while highlighting the collapsing hospital systems, education sector and deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan called for the world to take immediate action as Afghanistan was heading towards chaos.

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — The death toll from a sewer gas blast in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi jumped to 17 as some critically injured people died overnight and Sunday, police said.

Initially, 12 people were reported dead and 11 others injured in Saturday’s gas explosion in a sewage system in the commercial hub of Pakistan Saturday.

Senior police officer Sarfaraz Nawaz Shaikh said the loss of lives and property could be blamed on human errors of construction over the sewer. He said the number of injured also increased to 16.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The economic collapse of Afghanistan, already teetering dangerously on the edge, would have a “horrendous” impact on the region and the world, successive speakers warned Sunday at the start of a one-day summit of foreign ministers from dozens of Islamic countries.

The hastily called meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Islamabad brought together dozens of foreign ministers with the special representatives on Afghanistan of major powers, including China, the U.S. and Russia.

ISLAMABAD, Dec 18 (APP): The congressmen from both the Democrats and Republican parties asked the Biden Administration to release frozen Afghan assets, clarify the existing sanctions exemptions on humanitarian aid and allow international financial institutions to inject necessary economic capital into Afghanistan.

ISLAMABAD, Dec 18 (APP): The opening session of the senior officials meeting started here Saturday to finalize the agenda and work plan for the OIC’s foreign minister’s meeting set to take place Sunday.

Convened by Saudi Arabia and being hosted by Pakistan, the 17th Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of Organization of Islamic Cooperation will be held on Sunday here.

KARACHI, Pakistan, Dec 18 (Reuters) - At least 15 people were killed and 16 others injured in an explosion on Saturday at a bank branch in Karachi's industrial area, police said.

A senior police officer said the blast at a branch of Habib Bank Limited, Pakistan's largest lender, could have been caused by a gas leak, Sarfaraz Nawaz also told reporters that the building appeared to have been constructed over a sewage drain.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan is rallying Muslim countries to help Afghanistan stave off an economic and humanitarian disaster while also cajoling the neighboring country’s new Taliban rulers to soften their image abroad.

Several foreign ministers from the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation are meeting in Islamabad on Sunday to explore ways to aid Afghanistan while navigating the difficult political realities of its Taliban-run government, Pakistan’s top diplomat said Friday.