Imran says timely action must to avoid biggest disaster in Afghanistan; Pakistan proposes 6-point strategy to address crisis
Staff Reporter Islamabad
Muslim countries pledged on Sunday to set up a humanitarian trust fund for Afghanistan as, with millions facing hunger and a harsh winter setting in, Pakistan’s prime minister warned of chaos if the worsening emergency was not urgently addressed.
The trust fund, announced by Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, will be set up under the aegis of the Islamic Development Bank.
Allowing Afghanistan access to reserves frozen outside the country would be key to preventing economic collapse, participants in the meeting which included representatives from the United Nations, United States, European Union and Japan, said in a statement.
But it was unclear how much the fund would contain and the meeting did not provide official recognition to the Taliban government.
Qureshi said unlocking financial and banking channels was essential “because the economy can’t function and people can’t be helped without a banking system.”
Prime Minister Imran Khan, addressing the 17th Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Sunday underscored the need for humanitarian aid to Kabul, warning that if the world failed to act in a timely manner, Afghanistan could potentially become the “biggest man-made disaster.”
Highlighting the collapsing hospitals, education sector, and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, the prime minister called for the world to take immediate action as Afghanistan was heading towards chaos. “Unless action is taken immediately, Afghanistan is heading for chaos.
When it cannot pay salaries to public servants, doctors and nurses, any government is going to collapse. But chaos suits no one. It certainly does not suit the United States,” he added.
The prime minister said that owing to a dearth of resources, if the Afghan government remained unable to counter terrorism, other countries may also face its spillover impact.
Mentioning the presence of Daesh in Afghanistan, and terror attacks inside Pakistan by it from across the Afghan border, the prime minister said the only way to handle the terror outfit was a stable Afghanistan. He said ISIL was capable of carrying out international attacks.
He said the situation in Afghanistan was also caused by years of a corrupt government, suspension of foreign aid, freezing of foreign assets and a dysfunctional banking system which could lead to the collapse of any state. The prime minister said the OIC had a huge responsibility as it was our religious duty, too, to support the suffering Afghan brethren. The prime minister urged the world not to link their support with the Taliban, but rather that they must think of 40 million people.
However, he also said that the Taliban would also have to understand that formation of an inclusive gov-ernment, respect for human rights, particularly women, and disallowing the use of Afghan soil for terrorism in other countries would pave the way for international aid to Afghanistan.
The prime minister, however, asked the international community to be sensitive to the cultural tradi-tions of Afghanistan as well as adjoining areas in Pakistan, particularly considering girls’ education. He said in case of violation of their traditions, the families would never send their girls to schools even if incentivised, but they would willingly do it without any stipend if they felt satisfied. The prime minister said any chaos in Afghanistan would lead to the mass exodus of refugees which would be unaffordable for Pakistan.
