ISLAMABAD: Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary-General Iyad Ameen Abdullah Madani admitted on Monday that the Arab states cannot take any practical steps to stop Israel from attacking Gaza.

Mr Madani was speaking at an event titled ‘Contemporary Challengers of the Muslim World: The Vision and Role of the OIC’ at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad.

“In 1967, the Arabs faced a defeat as Israeli forces entered the Sinai Desert, West Bank of the Jordan River and the Golan Heights. Arabs cannot imagine stopping the support for Palestinians, but practically they are not in a position to do anything,” he claimed.

“OIC has been trying its best to classify the killing of Palestinians as a ‘war crime’, but unfortunately the preachers of human rights are not only supporting Israel but are also providing political shield to it,” he said.

Know more: Arab states support Israel against Hamas: NYT

However, while discussing the issues of Central Africa and Myanmar, Mr Madani claimed that OIC played its due role in resolving these issues.

Mr Madani said, at the moment, Muslim countries were facing more problems within the state than from outside their borders.

“The main issue is sectarian conflict. Every sect claims that their Islam should be implemented. Extremism is also affecting the countries. OIC has been trying to resolve the issues,” he said.

He added that OIC’s human rights wing has been trying to ensure equal rights to the citizens of the 57 member states, even non-Muslims.

“Being a founding member, Pakistan is one of the most important members and it has been playing its role for the development of the Muslim world. OIC has started focusing on science, technology and economic development of member countries,” he said.

Regarding the Kashmir dispute, Mr Madani said that although he has come to Pakistan to devise a strategy for the Kashmir issue, under an agreement India and Pakistan labeled Kashmir as a bilateral issue.

“In India there are more Muslims compared to any other country, so OIC has to consider all aspects,” he said.

Retired Lt-Gen Mohammad Asad Durrani, who also served as Pakistan’s ambassador in Saudi Arabia, declared that OIC had become dysfunctional.

“However I believe that it is not OIC’s fault, it is the fault of the Muslim Ummah which is not taking the organisation seriously,” he said.

Political analyst Rasul Bakhsh Rais said it was a crucial time to resolve the issues between the Muslim countries.

Published in Dawn, Aug 5th, 2014