By Mashal Khan

ISLAMABAD (TSAT) - Pakistan has launched preparations for the important meeting of the 57 Muslim countries Foreign Ministers that will be held in Islamabad in March.

Foreign Ministers Shah Mahmood Qureshi has sent invitations to the Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for the 48th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of Muslim bloc which is secluded on March 22-23 this year in capital Islamabad.

“On instruction of Foreign Minister  @SMQureshiPTI [Pakistan Foreign Minister], I delivered invitation for 48th CFM to Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan H.E. @bayramov_jeyhun [Azerbaijan Foreign Minister],” Bilal Hayee, Pakistan ambassador to Azerbaijan wrote on Twitter.

The 47th session of the OIC Foreign Minister had held in Niamey, Niger in November 2020 and was decided to hold the next meeting in 2021 in Islamabad. However, due to COVID-19 situation across the world the meeting couldn’t take place.

However, the OIC top diplomats gathered in Islamabad in December last month during an Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers to discuss the growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

It was the first OIC special meeting on Afghanistan after 40 years as the last meeting of the Muslim bloc had held after Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979.

According to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry, Qureshi also spoke with his counterparts from many Muslim countries and invited them for the 48th session of CFM.

The Muslim countries top diplomats will also participate in the Pakistani nation celebrations on their National Day and likely to attend an impressive grand military parade on March 23 as part of the Pakistan Day celebrations.