JEDDAH – The head of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) said on Thursday that military action in Afghanistan should be halted to make way for reconciliation.
“For restoring durable peace in Afghanistan, there is a need to look beyond the military option, which is not the way out,” said Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary general of OIC, the world’s largest pan-Islamic body.
He highlighted the need for an Afghan-led reconciliation process towards a comprehensive solution while addressing the participants at a Saudi meeting of the International Contact Group on Afghanistan. The Afghanistan rights monitor said last month that 2010 was the deadliest year for civilians in the war-torn country since the US-led invasion in 2001 ousted the Taliban.
At least 2,421 civilians were killed last year, said the watchdog, blaming the Taliban and other insurgents for more than 60 percent of the dead. At least 217 died in air strikes by international forces, he added. The OIC, which is hosting the session in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah, said separately that it was ready to maintain its role in helping Afghanistan restore peace, security and development.
The Jeddah meeting was attended by the new US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman. More than one-third of the nearly 50 countries and international organisations in the Contact Group are members of the OIC.
