‘Afghanistan has no aid, world should not abandon it’

Taliban military from the Al-Badr unit sit on armed vehicles during a parade in Kandahar. Pic/AFP

The world should not leave Afghanistan alone in the current economic situation where people are living in extreme poverty, a Pakistani minister said. Addressing a press briefing here, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said that people in Afghanistan are undergoing very tough economic challenges, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The primary reason for Afghanistan's present situation is that the assets of the country have been seized. Afghanistan was dependent on foreign aid and right now there is no aid," the minister said. Talking about his country's efforts to support the people of Afghanistan in the hour of need, he said that Pakistan would send rice and wheat to the neighboring country to help it handle the food crisis. He said a special fund is also being set up by the Pakistani government to help Afghanistan tackle the hunger issue.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan announced in a statement on Tuesday that Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Amir Khan Muttaqi is expected to lead a high-level delegation to Pakistan from Wednesday to Friday. "The exchanges will centre on Pakistan-Afghanistan relations with a particular focus inter alia on enhanced trade, facilitation of transit trade, cross-border movement, land and aviation links, people-to-people contacts, and regional connectivity," the statement said.

Pak to host US, China, Russia on Afghan issue

Pakistan will host senior diplomats from the United States, China and Russia in Islamabad to discuss the situation in Afghanistan on Thursday. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and its National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf will chair the ‘Troika Plus' meeting. The representative of the four countries will also meet Afghanistan's acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, Dawn reported.

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