Pakistan's NSA lands in Kabul for talks with Taliban

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan's National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf reached Kabul on Saturday, in a visit aiming to strengthen the country's humanitarian and economic engagement with new Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

Yusuf, who is also the convener of the Afghanistan Inter-Ministerial Coordination Cell (AICC), reached Kabul today and began his visit with a meeting with the acting Afghan foreign minister Mullah Amir Khan Muttaqi. 

He will have multiple official meetings to strengthen humanitarian and economic engagement. 

Our NSA Moeed Yusuf is in Kabul with an interministerial delegation. Had a productive meeting with Acting FM Mullah Amir Khan Muttaqi to kick off the visit. Will have multiple official meetings to strengthen humanitarian & econ engagement ⁦⁦@ForeignOfficePk⁩ ⁦ pic.twitter.com/J5mcOPm1xR

— Mansoor Ahmad Khan (@ambmansoorkhan) January 29, 2022

The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated drastically since the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021. International aid came to a sudden halt and the United States has frozen $9.5 billion (8.4 billion euros) in Afghan central bank assets held overseas. 

Hunger now threatens 23 million Afghans, or 55 percent of the population, according to the United Nations, which says it needs $5 billion from donor countries this year to address the humanitarian crisis in the country. 

In December 2021, Pakistan hosted the 17th extraordinary session of the Organization of Islamic Corporation’s (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers with a focus on the looming economic and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. 

The OIC agreed to establish a Humanitarian Trust Fund to channel assistance to Afghanistan, appoint a special envoy and work together with the UN in Afghanistan.