13th OIC summit begins in Turkey

With the 13th annual summit of Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) beginning in Istanbul, Turkey, on Sunday, leaders and representatives from the world's Islamic countries reached there to attend it.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was earlier scheduled to attend the summit, is not going there, but she sent her Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali yesterday to lead the Bangladesh delegation.

Leaders at the summit styled "Unity and Solidarity for Justice and Peace" are set to put focus on the Palestinian cause, conflicts and instability in member states and also combating terrorism.

Measures will be undertaken to develop joint Islamic action and advance the OIC's role in the regional and international arenas at the conference which will be followed by a meeting of foreign ministers today and tomorrow, said diplomatic sources.

About the prime minister's visit, officials at the Prime Minister's Office and the foreign ministry told The Daily Star that though there was preparation for her visit, she abandoned it for security reasons since there were several attacks carried out by Islamic State in Turkey in recent times.

The summit came a day after the US warned of a "credible threat" of attacks in Istanbul, they mentioned.

Another source, seeking anonymity, said there was negative opinion within the government about visiting Turkey by the prime minister as Istanbul was vocal against the trial of the war criminals and wrote to the government leaderships not to try those who committed war crimes during the 1971 Liberation War.