ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, on Wednesday, reiterated its call for extending humanitarian support to Afghanistan and underscored the importance of aid and economic assistance to avert humanitarian and financial crisis in the war-torn country.
This was reiterated during the 3rd Meeting of the Moscow Format, in Moscow, in which Pakistan was represented by Special Representative for Afghanistan Ambassador (retd) Muhammad Sadiq, according to a statement of the Foreign Office.
The meeting, hosted by Russia, was attended by China, Pakistan, Iran, India, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, and a high-level Afghan delegation.
Ambassador Sadiq conveyed that Pakistan’s constructive role in the Afghan peace process is well-recognised and acknowledged by the international community.
He highlighted that peace in Afghanistan will benefit the entire region in terms of stability, secure borders, enhanced connectivity, return of refugees and countering terrorism.
He emphasised that there was an urgent need to extend humanitarian support to Afghanistan for which international community must step up its efforts.
Ambassador Sadiq underscored the importance of aid and economic assistance to avert humanitarian and financial crisis in the war-torn country.
The Special Representative reiterated Pakistan’s firm belief that peace goes hand-in-hand with prosperity and economic stability.
He emphasised that after all these years, the people of Afghanistan need and deserve peace, progress and prosperity. And the international community must generously help them to walk on that path, the statement added.
The United States, which was also invited by Russia did not attend the meeting, citing logistical reasons.
In his opening address to the meeting, which was also attended by a delegation of the Taliban, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov deplored the US skipping of the meeting.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.