World

JI urges international community to support needy Afghans

Jamaat-e-Islami says it can provide technical expertise in education, health sectors

Anadolu Agency September 16, 2021

An internally displaced child from northern provinces, who fled from his home due the fighting between Taliban and Afghan security forces, sleeps in a public park that they use as shelter in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 10, 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS

ISLAMABAD:

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has offered technical support to the new administration in Afghanistan in the areas of health and education.

The Taliban took power in the war-torn country in mid-August and have formed an interim government headed by Hassan Akhund, the acting prime minister.

Addressing a news conference in the capital Islamabad, Asif Luqman Qazi, the party's director of foreign affairs, said the JI stands with the people of Afghanistan.

"Our leadership has offered technical support and expertise to the Afghan government through its office in Peshawar for the education and health sectors," he said, adding the Al Khidmat Foundation, the party's charity arm, could also extend a helping hand.

READ Afghans fear for jobs and money after Taliban takeover

Qazi urged the international community to support Afghans who are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

The UN has said that Afghanistan is facing a major humanitarian crisis after decades of war and suffering. More than $1 billion in aid was pledged for the country at a recent conference in Geneva.

The best strategy to give peace a chance is engaging with the newly-established interim government, Qazi said, urging the US to release the amount it is alleged to have frozen – over $9 billion worth of assets belonging to the Afghan central bank.

The JI leader said his party delegation is likely to visit Kabul and meet Taliban representatives soon.

Separately, he along with party members met the Turkish ambassador to Pakistan Mustafa Yurdakul to discuss developments in Afghanistan and the region.