KABUL (Pajhwok): Pakistan has urged the international community to release Afghanistan’s reserves for the resumption of normal business activities and strengthen Afghanistan’s economy.
Addressing special UN Generally Assembly meeting on Afghanistan Pakistani diplomat Mohammad Aamir khan said: “The release of Afghanistan’s reserves, currently being held abroad, will be crucial to resume normal business activities. Regional economic partnerships could also contribute to Afghanistan’s economy, which is in dire need of support.”
He said that preventing a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan must be a top priority for the international community. Despite Pakistan’s hardships, heightened recently by massive flooding, it continued to support its neighbour and Afghans in need.
Regardless of ideological considerations, the world must welcome the fact that one authority controls all of Afghanistan, and that “there is no credible challenge to its authority”.
Spoilers must never be allowed to incite violence and instability in Afghanistan. It is of vital importance to end the threat of terrorism in Afghanistan.
“We must develop a comprehensive anti-terror strategy,” he said, adding: “And to do so, engagement with the de facto Government is essential”.
Other delegates, particularly from the region, underscored the spillover effects of the illicit opium cultivation and drug production and trafficking, while others stressed the importance of keeping channels of communication with the Taliban open to bring forth concrete results.
Some speakers emphasized the imperative of addressing the issue of Afghanistan’s frozen assets. Humanitarian aid was critical but only a band-aid solution to a much deeper problem, they said.
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