The division of work within the Secretariat is as follows: there are political departments including Palestine and Jerusalem, an economic department, a cultural department, and administration. The Secretary General is the head and is elected for a non-renewable four year term. There have been exceptions, though. In the hierarchy, there are four Assistant Secretaries General, broadly representing the geographical regions. The Assistant Secretary General in charge of political affairs, Palestine and Jerusalem, is the senior-most and fulfills the function of the Secretary General in his absence.

Bangladesh joined the OIC as member in 1974. I remember it well. In 1973 Bangladesh joined the Non-Aligned Group Summit in Algiers under the leadership of then Prime Minister Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. I was Bangladesh Ambassador in Algiers and it was a major breakthrough for our diplomacy. The Non-Aligned Summit assembled more than a hundred heads of states and governments from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Very few of those states recognised Bangladesh.

In February 1974 the OIC held a summit in Lahore. The Islamic countries, particularly the Arab countries were very keen that we join the OIC. Bangabndhu had taken a principled stand that for him to visit any foreign country, that state had to accord recognition to Bangladesh. Our Foreign Minister Dr. Kamal Hossain came to Algiers and had very important talks with his counterpart Abdel Aziz Bouteflika (currently the President of Algeria). Bouteflika pressed Dr. Hossain to attend the OIC summit in Lahore.

Dr. Hossain pointed out that Pakistan had to recognise the independence of Bangladesh first. When the decks were cleared, a five-member OIC delegation led by Algeria came to Dhaka. It was a Friday and the top official from Algeria, Adjali, told me later that, were mobbed by the Friday prayer crowd in Bait-ul-Mukarram. Pakistan announced recognition of Bangladesh and Bangladesh did likewise and with an aircraft provided by the authorities of Algeria, Bangabandhu and his delegation reached Lahore and joined the OIC deliberations amidst scenes of great emotional fervour.

Tragedy struck Bangladesh in 1975, when Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with his entire family and near relations were assassinated in one of the cruelest events in history. This was followed by jail killing of top four leaders of the ruling Awami League in a bid to paralyse the political party and sow the seeds of destabilisation.

In 1979 I was Bangladesh Ambassador in Egypt. I was getting ready to attend the annual OIC Foreign Ministers Conference in Rabat. I received a telephone call from Justice Abu Sayeed Chowdhury, who was living in virtual exile in London. For many years I had excellent friendship with Justice Chowdhury, specially during his Presidency of the Republic. As Chief of Protocol, I organised his first state visit to India in 1973, and it was a huge success. Since the assassination of Bangabandhu, Justice Chowdhury had settled for a modest living in London. He told me on the phone that Gen. Ziaur Rahman, the new President of Bangladesh had been pressing him to contest the post of Secretary General of the OIC. Justice Chowdhury wanted my opinion.

After thinking the matter over, I told Justice Chowdhury that I could not feel enthusiastic, because his was a very big name and his role during the War of Liberation had made him an icon. On the other hand, I realised that saying no to a proposal from the President was very delicate and difficult. Justice Chowdhury told me that he also felt that he had to accept, but he would not campaign. Justice Chowdhury did not campaign, and in order to frustrate Bangladesh's ambition Pakistan proposed a senior bureaucrat Ghulam Ishaque Khan.

Since OIC prides itself as an organisation of the Ummah, a compromise candidate Habib Chatti of Tunisia was elected the new Secretary General. Habib Chatti and I had been colleagues in Algiers and when he moved to Tunis as the Foreign Minister, I met him frequently with the President of Tunisia, Habib Bourguiba. In 1980, the OIC Foreign Ministers Conference was held in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. My government proposed my name for the post of Assistant Secretary General. Pakistan made a last minute attempt to frustrate the candidature of Bangladesh. Thanks to my friendship with Habib Chatti and many foreign ministers including Turkey's, I easily won the post.

I joined the post of Assistant Secretary General in charge of Political Affairs, Palestine, Jerusalem, Information, and Legal Affairs. I joined the OIC on September 1, 1980, and Habib Chatti gave me an appointment letter stating that I would be the senior-most Assistant Secretary General, and in his absence would be Acting Secretary General. As Habib Chatti enjoyed traveling a lot, I was frequently Acting Secretary General.

One of the most memorable event during my time was the Iran-Iraq war. The first ever OIC summit was held in front of the Holy Kaaba, where the assembled kings, presidents, and heads of government sat in front of the Holy Kaaba as the Imam of the Holy Mosque in Makkah-al-Mukarramah chanted suras from the Holy Koran and the summit began. This was an unforgettable experience.

We then swiftly moved to the hill resort called Taif, where a whole city in marble had sprung up for the summit. Since Iran was convinced that Iraq was the aggressor, she refused to attend the summit until the OIC declared that Iran had been aggressed. Habib Chatti was sent post haste to Tehran to request Iran to change her mind.

Meanwhile, the summit started with the foreign ministers, and I assisted Prince Saud al-Faisal, who was presiding. The summit was held without Iran in the end. For the OIC, it was the hardest challenge for two very important members were locked in battle. The summit decided to set up a Peace Committee comprising eight heads of government. Chatti wanted ro know if Bangladesh should be included and I said an emphatic yes. Thus President Zia played an important role within the Peace Committee.

Chatti wanted me to ask the heads of state whether the presidency should be a rotating one or on the basis of seniority. President Sekou Toure of Guinea was by far the senior-most and he told me that he did not understand "rotation." The Saudi government provided all logistical support like a very luxurious plane (bathroom attachments of pure gold), a royal palace for the eight heads of state, and secretarial help. We made several trips to Tehran and Baghdad, including a meeting with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The Iranians insisted that they would not sit with Saddam Hussein of Iraq, who must be branded an aggressor. Saddam, whose forces were on the retreat, was more than willing for a deal.

The Peace Mission of the OIC petered out. In 1981, I was discussing with Chatti in Baghdad, the arrangements for the Foreign Ministers Conference that was about to begin. One of his aides gave him a faxed message. President Zia-ur-Rahman had been assassinated. He was an important personality within the OIC and was playing a valuable role for finding a solution to the Iran-Iraq war. I told Chatti that the best way we could pay respect to President Zia was to hold urgently a memorial meeting in Dhaka. He asked me to contact Sekou Toure, who broke down on the phone. He ordered that a memorial meeting be organised immediately in Dhaka. Chatti and I started contacting heads of states of the Peace Committee.

In the afternoon when we compared notes, we found that whereas all the heads of state were willing, President Zia-ul-Huq of Pakistan had said flatly no. His argument was that the Bangladesh authorities would drag him to the National Memorial and he would have to stand bareheaded. Our effort for a memorial meeting for thus President Zia fell through.

The author is a former Ambassador and Acting Secretary General, OIC.