PM warns of ‘grave consequences’

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday warned that any silence and delay from the international community could potentially lead to the biggest “manmade disaster” if it failed to ensure timely aid to crisis-ridden Afghanistan.

In his keynote address to the 17th extraordinary session of Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, he said that urgent action is needed to avert the looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan or there will be complete chaos.

“The government which is not in a position to pay the salaries to public servants, medics and nurses, etc, is destined to collapse, which will suit no one. It certainly does not suit the United States,” he maintained.

The envoys from 57 Islamic countries, as well as, observer delegations participated in the session. The participants also included Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi alongside delegates from the United States, China, Russia, the European Union and UN.

The prime minister, who was the last to speak before the televised portion of the event concluded, began his speech by welcoming the participants to Pakistan.

He said that forty-one years ago, an extraordinary session of OIC was held in Pakistan to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.

PM urges world to help avert humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan

He said that no other country had suffered as much as Afghanistan, adding that even before the Taliban seized control, half of the population was below the poverty line. He said that 75 per cent of the country’s budget was also supported by foreign aid.

He noted that any country, in a situation similar to that of Afghanistan, would collapse, adding the global community should not act as a silent spectator and instead come forward to help the people of Afghanistan before it is too late.

He lauded the speakers for highlighting the gravity of the situation in the war-torn country, and reiterated: “If the world doesn’t act now, it will be the biggest man-made crisis which is set to unfold in front of us”.

The prime minister said that the OIC also had a religious duty to help their Afghanistan brethren which are suffering due to prolonged war in the country.

He specifically addressed the US, saying it should immediately de-link the Taliban government from the 40 million Afghan citizens.

Underscoring the need to take important action to avert any humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, he said that the Afghans have been in conflict with the Taliban for 20 years and the crisis now concerns the people of Afghanistan.

He maintained that the Taliban must understand that formation of an inclusive government, 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.

At the same time, the prime minister called upon the international community to be sensitive to the cultural traditions 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 school even if incentivised, but they would willingly do it without any stipend if they felt satisfied.

“The idea of human rights is different in every society,” he said, giving the example of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which borders the war-torn country.

“The city culture is completely different from the culture in rural areas…we give stipends to the parents of the girls so that they send them to school. But in districts bordering Afghanistan, if we are not sensitive to the cultural norms, then they won’t send them to school despite receiving double the amount. We have to be sensitive about human rights and women rights,” he added.

PM Khan reiterated that Afghanistan was headed for chaos unless the world took immediate action. Such a situation will not suit the US because “chaos means the inability to fight terrorism,” he said, adding that Pakistan also faced a threat from ISIL (Daesh). He said that Pakistan was currently housing over three million refugees, adding that country was also providing shelter to more than 200,000 refugees who had overstayed their visas.

“The situation in Afghanistan means they can’t go back. We are already suffering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. We are not in a position to deal with an influx of refugees,” he added.

He also warned that any chaos in Afghanistan would lead to the mass exodus of refugees which countries like Pakistan would not be able to afford.

Addressing the participants, the premier said he was impressed by the suggestions put forward by Islamic development banks for providing immediate assistance.

He also called for OIC’s unified response on the issues of Kashmir and Palestine, where people were struggling for their democratic rights guaranteed by the United Nations.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021