Pakistan’s Khan urges Islamic nations to mediate in Ukraine war

Pakistani leader asks Muslim-majority nations to help end Russia’s war in Ukraine, appealing also to China to join the effort.

Pakistan’s prime minister has urged foreign ministers from Muslim-majority nations to help end Russia’s war in Ukraine, appealing also to China’s top diplomat to join the effort.

Imran Khan spoke on Tuesday at the start of a two-day gathering in Islamabad of the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which for the first time saw the attendance of China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, as a special guest.

The war in Ukraine “could have great consequences for the world,” Khan warned and added that the rest of the planet is “already suffering” with surging prices of oil, gas, and wheat from a region known as the breadbasket of the world.

He urged the ministers to “mediate, try to bring about a ceasefire and an end to the conflict”.

The OIC meeting in Islamabad has an ambitious agenda that seeks approval for more than 100 declarations, including aid for financially strapped Afghanistan and support for the Palestinians, and the people living in the disputed region of Kashmir.

“We have failed both the Palestinians and the people of Kashmir. I am sad to say that we have been able to make no impact at all,” he said.

“We (Muslims) are 1.5 billion people and yet our voice to stop this blatant injustice is insignificant.”

Khan has tried to position himself on the international stage, but his insistence on continuing with a visit to Moscow last month as Russian troops invaded Ukraine perplexed even his most ardent admirers.