Pakistan will face stiff competition from Afghanistan to win an assistant secretary-general’s post at the Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Elections take place at the 40th OIC foreign ministerial meeting next month in Conakry, the capital of Guinea.

Indonesia and Malaysia are also among the contestants for the post. There are five assistant secretaries-general at the OIC. One is for political affairs, which is generally reserved for Saudi Arabia. Another is exclusively for Palestinian affairs, usually filled by a Palestinian diplomat. The remaining three posts are divided among the organization’s Arab, Asian and African groups.

The competition among the Asian nations has become intense with the announcement by both Pakistan and Afghanistan that Saudi Arabia and other countries support them.

Pakistan has approved the candidature of Muhammad Naeem Khan, its current ambassador to Saudi Arabia, while Afghanistan has forwarded the name of Nangyalai Tarzi, the country’s ambassador to Geneva.

Last month, Khan said: “I’m honored that the Kingdom and the Pakistani government have selected me as their candidate for such a prestigious position at the OIC.”

Last week, Afghanistan’s permanent representative to the OIC, Abdul Rahim Sayedjan, told Arab News that Saudi Arabia has promised to support the Afghan candidate for the post. “We were given an assurance to this effect during Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul’s visit to Saudi Arabia in May this year,” said Sayedjan.

He claimed that Afghanistan stood a good chance of winning the post “because most of the countries in the Asian bloc, including the Central Asian states, are supporting Tarzi.”

In the past such posts have always been decided through consensus. However, with Afghanistan and Pakistan staying firm, there is increasing possibility that the issue will be decided through a secret ballot among the 14 members of the Asian bloc. In the event of a tie, the matter will be referred to the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers.

Whoever wins will replace Abdul Moiz Bokhari, the Pakistani diplomat who completes his five-year term in December.

The Guinea session is extremely significant because it will herald the arrival of the new OIC Secretary-General Iyad Madani, the former Saudi culture and information minister, after two game-changing terms from Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu of Turkey.

The OIC, established in 1969, is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations and has 57 member states spread over four continents. The body also has a permanent delegation to the UN.

The organization is the collective voice of the Muslim world and works to safeguard and protect the interests of Muslims in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony.