NEW YORK – Pakistan has underscored the urgency of addressing current humanitarian and economic crisis in neighbouring Afghanistan while warning against groups such as Al-Qaeda and Deash getting advantage of the devastating situation in the war-torn country.
Speaking at a virtual discussion organised by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees on Friday, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to UN Munir Akram said the international community must provide urgent humanitarian assistance to Afghan population to avoid a humanitarian disaster and to prevent another massive outflow of refugees.
The envoy said Pakistan continues to pursue an inclusive, generous and compassionate approach towards Afghan refugees as it was currently hosting, consistent with humanitarian principles.
As delegates for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) special session on Afghanistan started to arrive in Islamabad on Friday, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters during a press briefing that the likes of Al-Qaeda and Daesh will get advantage of the crisis and will increase their footprints in Afghanistan.
Pakistan is hosting OIC Foreign Ministers’ conference on Sunday in Islamabad to bridge gap between Taliban and international community on Afghan humanitarian crisis.
Sanctions, assets freeze cripple Afghanistan s banking system: FM Qureshi
The Taliban takeover prompted the US and other donors to cut off financial aid on which Afghanistan became dependent during 20 years of war, and froze $9.5 billion in Afghan central bank assets, isolating the country from the global financial system and paralyzing its banks.
UN agencies say nearly 23 million people — about 55 percent of the Afghan population — are now facing extreme levels of hunger, with 9 million at risk of famine.
OIC meeting: Three-day holiday in Islamabad with no suspension of mobile service
