ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb highlighted the role of the media in addressing the challenges faced by Muslims around the world during a recent Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) conference, her office said on Monday, while calling for a working group to deal with the issue of Islamophobia.

The minister issued the statement while addressing the 12th session of the OIC Conference of Information Ministers in Istanbul on October 21-22 after Saudi Arabia handed over the chairmanship to Turkey during the opening session of the event.

During her speech at the forum, Aurangzeb also the OIC to protect the rights of Muslim minorities around the world by speaking up against the violations of their civil and constitutional liberties.

“Paying tribute to the steadfastness of the Kashmiri and Palestinian people, the Minister called upon the media to show their sufferings at the hands of the Indian and Israeli occupation forces after visiting the occupied territories,” the official statement said. “She also suggested establishment of an intersessional Working Group on disinformation, misinformation and islamophobia for sharing best practices and experiences in the OIC geography.”

The OIC meeting emphasized the need to combat Islamophobia “in all its manifestations” by unanimously passing a resolution during the conference.

It also urged media outlets in OIC countries to raise global awareness about “deliberate acts of destruction and desecration of Islamic cultural and religious heritage in non-Muslim countries, especially in those areas where indigenous Muslim communities were subjected to ethnic cleansing.”

The Pakistani information minister encouraged the media in Muslim states to play its role in urgent, unified and decisive action in the form of climate financing for building resilience in vulnerable developing countries.