OIC describes raging war in Afghanistan ‘genocide of Muslims’

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) called the raging war in Afghanistan "genocide of Muslims," an official statement said on Thursday.

In a statement issued by the Afghan government, Muhammad Qasim Halimi, Afghanistan's minister for hajj and religious affairs, said he met Yousef Al-Othaimeen, secretary-general of the OIC, and Mohammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, secretary-general of the Muslim World League, in Saudi Arabia before participating in a gathering of religious scholars from Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

The OIC secretary-general dubbed the war in Afghanistan "genocide of Muslims," the statement said, adding that Halimi underlined on this occasion that there was no excuse for the Taliban to continue fighting in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of foreign troops.

The Muslim World League on Thursday hosted "The Islamic Conference on the Declaration of Peace in Afghanistan" in Makkah, which was addressed by Al-Issa, Halimi and Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, Pakistani minister for religious affairs.

They were joined by senior clerics from Afghanistan and Pakistan via video link for a full-day session on peace, tolerance and the role of scholars in resolving regional conflicts and supporting peace-building efforts.