Islamabad: Welcoming  Saudi Arabia's move to request an extraordinary session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi welcomed on Monday announced that Pakistan had offered to host the meeting in Islamabad on December 17.

According to a statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO), Qureshi said Pakistan "fully endorses" the initiative taken by Saudi Arabia and expressed confidence that other OIC members would also back the proposal.

Saudi Arabia, which is the chair of the OIC summit, made the call for the extraordinary session the same day, according to state-run Saudi Press Agency.

The agency reported that the meeting had been called to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and "pathways for an urgent humanitarian response", acknowledging Pakistan's offer to host the summit.

Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan on August 15, the country — already struggling with drought and severe poverty after decades of war — has seen its economy all but collapse, raising the spectre of an exodus of refugees.

According to the FO's statement, Qureshi, too, highlighted the need for providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan in these difficult times.

"Afghanistan is a founding member of the OIC. As part of the Islamic Ummah, we are bound by fraternal bonds of amity and brotherhood with the people of Afghanistan," he said, stressing that "today, our Afghan brothers and sisters need us more than ever before."

Describing the situation in the warn-torn country, he said Afghanistan currently "faces a serious humanitarian situation — millions of Afghans, including women and children, confront an uncertain future due to [the] shortage of food, medicines, and other essential life supplies".

And the advent of winter had exacerbated this humanitarian crisis, the foreign minister added.​He emphasised the need for the OIC to "step in to help our Afghan brethren".

"We should step up our collective efforts to alleviate the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people, provide immediate and sustained support to them, and continue to remain engaged with them for the wellbeing and prosperity of Afghanistan."

According to the FO, the first extraordinary session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers was held in Islamabad in January 1980, also on the then situation in Afghanistan.

"Next month, we would, once again, gather in Islamabad, to reaffirm our abiding solidarity with and support to the Afghan people," it quoted Qureshi as saying.

The foreign minister added that he was confident about the meeting considering "concrete steps to help address the humanitarian and economic challenges facing Afghanistan," and that he looked forward to welcoming his fellow foreign ministers from OIC member states to Islamabad.

Sheikhupura: Due to foggy conditions, more than 30 vehicles have piled up on motorway M2 near Kala Shah Kaku in Sheikhupura on Tuesday morning.

The multi-vehicle collision was caused by dense smog that has hit Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa plains. Speeding vehicles rammed into one another while trying to stop after 1 collision.

Rescue 1122 crew arrived at the spot with ambulances. Paramedics were seen tending to people with minor injuries.

Rescue officials said at least 20 people were injured and at least 10 of them were moved to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Muridke.

Motorway police and FWO staff also responded to the crash.

The motorway was blocked after the crash.

A dense fog has hit Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa plains causing traffic disruptions. Sections of motorways M1, connecting Peshawar with Islamalabad, M11, connecting Lahore to Sialkot, and M3 connecting Lahore to Multan were closed on Monday morning.

World soccer's governing body FIFA will test its semi-automated offside technology at the Arab Cup 2021 which begins in Qatar on Tuesday, with Chief Refereeing Officer Pierluigi Collina saying the competition represented its most important trial so far.

The technology is based on limb tracking and provides the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) with information before the on-field official takes a final call.

"We'll have a camera setup installed under the roof of each stadium," FIFA's Football Technology and Innovation Director Johannes Holzmueller said in a statement on Monday.

"The limb-tracking data extracted from the video will be sent to the operations rooms and the calculated offside line and detected kick-point is provided to the replay operator in almost real time.

"The replay operator then has the opportunity to show it immediately to the VAR. At the FIFA Arab Cup the assistant VAR at a dedicated offside station can immediately validate and confirm the information."
FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger said in April that he hoped the organisation would be ready to implement the technology at next year's World Cup in Qatar.

In March, former Netherlands forward Marco van Basten called on football's lawmakers to consider scrapping the offside rule, saying that the sport would be better off without it.

The game has seen several contentious offside calls since the introduction of the VAR, with growing concern about the time taken and the precision with which offsides are judged.

"Technology is very important and useful in both the pre-match preparation and the decision-making process during matches," Collina said.

"In an offside incident, the decision is made after having analysed not only the players' position but also their involvement in the move.

"Technology – today or tomorrow – can draw a line but the assessment of an interference with play or with an opponent remains in the referee's hands."

SOURCE: REUTERS