Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan has condemned the Israel attacks on Palestinians outside the Al Aqsa mosque during the holy month of Ramadan and reiterated his call on the international community and the Muslim world to take steps to protect the Palestinians and their legitimate rights.
One of my critics asked this question; even if they convene a meeting and pass a resolution condemning Israeli acts, will it make any difference? I insisted that holding an emergency meeting may prove that Muslim countries are united and support the Palestinians cause.
Having said that I could not resist saying, “They may show lukewarm response and send a low ranking official to attend the meeting, but the wording of the resolution will be non-consequential.” In support of my rationale I have the following arguments:
It is no secret that for more than seven decades residents of, Palestine and Kashmir have been bearing the brunt of divided Muslim Ummah. Their miseries have persisted because of the vested interest of those countries, which enjoy the power to convince the global and regional superpowers to resolve these long outstanding issues.
Today, I will not talk about the Kashmir issue because it does not have a common border with countries located in Arabian Peninsula. My heart is bleeding on the apathy of these countries towards the killing of their Arab brothers by Israel in the occupied territories. I will not talk about heinous crimes against Palestinians over the last seven decades, but the most recent one, the indiscriminate killing of Muslims in Jerusalem last Friday.
It is known to all and sundry that Jews paid a heavy amount to the then US president, Donald Trump to do two things: 1) recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and 2) relocate the US embassy to newly recognized capital. All the oil-rich Arab countries didn’t resist this move. In fact, they were advised to normalize relationship with Israel, some have already done this, while others have also accepted but waiting for an opportune time to make the declaration.
Another friend said, “Iran is anti-United States and can be convinced to draft a heavily worded resolution.” I also have my doubts because most of the Arabs believe “Iran is a bigger threat as compared to Israel” and may not even like to invite it.
Many ardent followers of Imran Khan in Pakistan believe that he is capable of leading Muslim Ummah. However, many Arab countries also may not like the idea. Regrettably, some of these countries believe only they have the right to lead Muslim Ummah.
Therefore, I don’t expect any encouraging response from oil-rich Arab countries on holding an emergency meeting of OIC. They may not like making Khan a leader of Muslim Ummah.
BY SHABBIR H. KAZMI Economic/ Geopolitical Analyst THE AZB
