Islamic world pitches ways to aid desperately poor Afghans

By KATHY GANNON
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Islamic countries are scrambling to find ways to help Afghanistan avert an imminent economic collapse they say would have a “horrendous” global impact. The hastily called meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Islamabad on Sunday ended with a promise to set up a fund to provide humanitarian aid through the Islamic Development Bank, which would provide a cover for countries to donate without dealing directly with the country’s Taliban rulers. In a press conference at the end of the summit, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also described what he called good news from the United States, whose special representative on Afghanistan, Tom West, attended the summit.