The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has thanked Pakistan for assisting it in evacuating its employees from Kabul, a little more than a week after the Taliban took control of the Afghan capital.
Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF’s Managing Director, said on Twitter that Pakistan’s actions at the highest levels were “absolutely critical” to the evacuation of IMF employees and their families from Afghanistan.
#Pakistan's efforts at the highest levels were absolutely critical to the safe and swift evacuation of IMF staff and their families from #Afghanistan.
My heartfelt thanks to @ImranKhanPTI for Pakistan's exceptional assistance in very difficult circumstances!
— Kristalina Georgieva (@KGeorgieva) August 23, 2021
“My heartfelt thanks to @ImranKhanPTI for Pakistan’s exceptional assistance in very difficult circumstances!” she tweeted.
Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan’s capital last Sunday, Pakistan has begun granting visas and safely removing diplomatic personnel and international media, among others.
Pakistan has recently complained against the world community for failing to acknowledge its efforts to properly evacuate Afghans.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi stated that Pakistan is presently involved in evacuation operations in Kabul, which is the international community’s urgent issue.
He said the Pakistan Embassy in Kabul is working around the clock to transfer people out of the city, including diplomatic officials and staff from foreign organizations.
“Are we being acknowledged? No. We are not even being mentioned in the list of countries that are helping evacuate people,” he had regretted.
‘At least 1,100 people evacuated’
Last week, Pakistani Ambassador to the United Nations Munir Akram told CNN that his country was actively transporting ambassadors, international agency workers, and journalists out of Kabul.
The Pakistani embassy in Kabul is open and processing visa applications for individuals who are qualified to go, according to the ambassador, and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is running numerous flights.
Since Wednesday, 1,100 people had been evacuated, he had said, adding: “Hopefully, we can get out at least 500, 600 each day out of Kabul.”
Ambassador Akram stated that a number of Afghans working for foreign embassies in Afghanistan had also been evacuated.
