His Excellency Mr. Hamra Khan, Foreign Minister of Tajikistan,

Excellencies,

Brothers and sisters,

Asslam-o-Alaikum

It is a privilege for me and my delegation to be here in Tajikistan, a country with whom we have centuries old historical, cultural, intellectual, ethnic and religious ties. We are grateful to the Government and people of Tajikistan for their warm welcome and generous hospitality.

Let me take this opportunity to felicitate you on your assumption of the Chairmanship of the 37 th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers. I assure you our full cooperation in making the organization more active and vibrant under your chairmanship. Our gratitude also goes to His Excellency Mr. Waleed Al-Muallim, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Syria for his able leadership as the Chairman of the 36 th CFM.

We greatly appreciate the contribution of Professor Dr. Ekmeluddin Ihsanoglu for his consistent efforts to enhance stature of the OIC in the international community.

Brothers and sisters,

The 37 th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers is taking place at a time when the world, particularly the Muslim Ummah, is facing critical challenges. In this backdrop the theme of this session “Shared vision of a more secure and prosperous Islamic world” is most timely and relevant. The Muslim countries with a population of more than 1.3 billion are endowed with enormous human and material resources. Yet we are faced with problems of underdevelopment, illiteracy, poverty, unemployment, disease, conflict and terrorism. We bear the burden of largest number of refugees and internally displaced people. Our faith and religious symbols are increasingly a subject of derision and ridicule. We are suffering most at the hands of terrorists, yet we are seen as perpetrators rather than victims of terrorism.

We can and must meet these huge challenges through concerted efforts and unity among our ranks. The 21 st century would be dominated by innovation and competition. With our youthful population it offers us unparalleled opportunities. We must grab the opportunity by creating knowledge based societies. It would require priority investments in human development; science and technology and promotion and protection of human rights of all segments of society particularly women and minorities. This would ensure political stability, economic prosperity and social cohesion in our societies. We must seize the initiative and become trend setters, following in the foot steps of our worthy ancestors.

Brothers and sisters,

Terrorism is the most serious challenge confronting us all today. Misguided people, in the name of religion, are killing innocent men, women and children in mosques, schools, hospitals and market places. These criminals do not represent our noble faith. We will not allow them to hijack our faith and societies.

As a front line state in the on-going struggle against terrorism, Pakistan has suffered enormously both in terms of human lives and material. Our more than 2500 brave security personnel have sacrificed their lives to make the world safer for us and our children. Over 10,000 civilians have fallen victim to brutalities of terrorists. Besides, we have suffered economic losses of more than US$ 35 billion. All this has strengthened our resolve to root out this menace from our territory and the region at large.

We are fully conscious that use of military force is not the enduring solution to the problem of terrorism. The Government of Pakistan, therefore, has evolved a 3D strategy comprising dialogue, development and deterrence to comprehensively deal with this scourge.

Brothers and sisters,

There is a need to ponder on the reasons which are making the Muslim street so restive and Muslim youth susceptible to violence and extremism. Poverty, economic deprivations and political injustices are obvious culprits. Continued foreign occupation of Muslim territories and denial of inalienable right of self-determination generate resentment, sense of helplessness and extremism leading to violence.

The plight of our Palestinian brothers and sisters is a case in point. We condemn persistent violation of their fundamental rights and express our solidarity with them in the wake of continued construction of new settlements in the Occupied Territories. The desecration of the Islamic sites in the holy land must stop forthwith.

Pakistan believes that basic conditions for a durable solution to the Arab-Israel conflict should be: (a) total withdrawal of Israel from occupied territories; and (b) restitution of the inalienable right of Palestinian people to have their own state, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

Brothers and sisters,

Pakistan remains committed to a just and peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the Security Council Resolutions and aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

The prospects of a lasting peace in South Asia are directly linked with a just and durable solution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. Pakistan believes that any resolution of the dispute must be acceptable to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. We, therefore, fully support associating the true representatives of the Kashmiri people with the Pakistan-India dialogue on Jammu and Kashmir.

Last month, the Prime Ministers of Pakistan and India met during the 16 th SAARC Summit in Thimpu, Bhuttan. The two leaders agreed to resume the stalled dialogue process. We look forward to have meaningful dialogue with India to resolve all outstanding issues including the Kashmir dispute.

Pakistan and Afghanistan enjoy close fraternal relations. Our two peoples share common roots of faith, culture and history. A stable and peaceful Afghanistan is in Pakistan's core strategic interest. We fully support President Karzai's initiative for national reconciliation and reintegration in Afghanistan. Pakistan has been and will continue to be an active participant in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Here I would like to mention that Pakistan is hosting 3 million Afghan refugees and provide scholarship to Afghan students.

Pakistan supports the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq. It is a matter of great satisfaction for all of us that stability is gradually returning to our brotherly country.

We are deeply concerned at the continued conflict in Somalia. We support all regional and international initiatives for early return of peace and stability in Somalia.

Brothers and sisters,

As the second largest intergovernmental organization, the OIC needs to play a more active role in the reform of the United Nations as well as the UN Security Council. We must ensure adequate representation of the OIC Member States in any category of membership in an expanded Security Council.

It is a matter of grave concern that the insidious trend of Islamophobia has been on the rise in the recent past. Political dividends reaped by Dutch extremist Geert Wilders in regional elections is encouraging extremists in other countries to resort to Islam bashing in election campaigns. Negative stereotyping of Muslim and defamation of Islam have become fashionable under the pretext of freedom of expression. Following the ban on construction of minarets of mosques in Switzerland, a Swedish radical party has published appalling and outrageous posters of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). We strongly condemn these sacrilegious posters. It has gravely hurt Muslim sentiments throughout the world.

We appreciate efforts by the OIC Working Groups on Human Rights in New York and Geneva in support of the resolution on “Combating Defamation of Religions”. The OIC needs to follow a two-pronged strategy of closer interaction with the West to address the phenomenon of Islamophobia and defamation of Islam as well as to develop a united approach within the OIC Member States on this sensitive issue.

Brothers and sisters,

Pakistan is hosting two important institutions. COMSTECH is making useful contribution to scientific advancement in the Islamic world. We look forward to hosting 14 th General Assembly of COMSTECH in Islamabad in December this year.

Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) is also playing a pivotal role in promotion of commercial and trade relations among OIC Member States. It should be further strengthened to perform its mandated functions. Pakistan will extend every possible assistance to the Chamber in this endeavour.

Pakistan remains fully committed to transforming the OIC into a revitalized, cohesive and vibrant organization. The OIC is the collective voice of the Muslim Ummah. It must be enabled to meet the challenges of 21 st century. The adoption of the Revised Charter in 2008 has given the organization a new direction to bring it in line with realities of the contemporary world. Our strength lies in promoting unity, solidarity and a strong sense of Islamic IKHWA, which are essential ingredients for our success, progress and prosperity. May Allah Almighty crown our efforts with success.

Thank you and Asslam-o-Alaikum.