US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West said on Twitter Saturday that he is in Islamabad to attend the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) ministerial meeting on Afghanistan, which he called a “timely” initiative.
OIC foreign ministers, a number of non-member states, and a number of international organizations are expected to join the meeting which is scheduledl for Sunday to discuss the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.
West said the US is following a “clear-eyed policy” with the Islamic Emirate and that the people of Afghanistan remain the focus of the US. “While we continue clear-eyed diplomacy with the Taliban – on human rights, terrorism, and educational access, among many other issues – the Afghan people will remain at the center of our considerations,” he said in a tweet.
West said that he has discussed the issue of Afghanistan with US Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Jim Risch, ranking member of the committee, who shared perspectives on the way forward in Afghanistan.
West said he has also received “critical” advice from international humanitarian organizations implementing and delivering humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan, including the UN.
Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi also arrived in Islamabad on Saturday to attend the conference.
Ahead of the meeting, Muttaqi met with officials and envoys from Indonesia, Germany, Pakistan and international organizations. —Agencies
