(Islamabad) Pakistan’s foreign minister warned Thursday during an interview in Islamabad with US, Chinese and Russian diplomats that Afghanistan is “on the brink of economic collapse” and the international community must revive its financial and humanitarian support for the country.
“Afghanistan today is on the brink of economic collapse,” Shah Mahmood Qureshi declared at the opening of this “troika plus” meeting, in which the new US envoy to Afghanistan Thomas is taking part.
Diplomats are scheduled to meet Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mottaki on Thursday.
Qureshi added that if the situation worsens, the ability of the new Taliban regime to rule the country will be “extremely limited”. “It is therefore imperative that the international community urgently support the resumption of humanitarian assistance.”
This includes giving Afghanistan access to funds frozen by Western donors since the Taliban took control of the country in August, he said.
This support will “help our efforts to revive economic activities and make the Afghan economy stable and sustainable,” he said.
He also emphasized that the measures would benefit Western countries. “If you think that you are far away, that Europe is safe and that these areas will not be affected by terrorism, do not forget history,” he said. “We have learned from the past and we don’t want to make the same mistakes again.”
The international community has not yet recognized the Taliban government, and the already unstable economy is collapsing, with the value of the national currency, the Afghani, depreciating sharply.
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund suspended their aid.
The United Nations has repeatedly warned in recent weeks that Afghanistan is on the brink of a very serious humanitarian crisis, with half of its population at risk of running out of food.
It is Mr West’s first trip to the region since he was appointed in October to replace Zalmay Khalilzad, who served during the US withdrawal that precipitated the Taliban’s return to power in August.
West, who was in Brussels this week to discuss Afghanistan with NATO officials, reported that the Taliban came out “very clearly” for the return of international aid to their country, the normalization of their relations with foreign countries and the lifting of international sanctions imposed on them. .
The diplomat called on other countries concerned to stand united in the face of this crisis, noting that Washington cannot act alone.
