FM Qureshi stresses on provision of humanitarian assistance to Afghans

World community must also provide support to the Afghan refugee-hosting countries, the FM adds

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday stressed the importance of providing humanitarian and development assistance to the Afghan people and again urged the international community to engage with the country. 

The remarks by the foreign minister came during a meeting with the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Peter Maurer, on the sidelines of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The foreign minister outlined the contributions made by Pakistan towards the mitigation of the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, especially through its support for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor and provision of assistance comprising food and medical supplies.

"The world community must also provide support to the Afghan refugee-hosting countries in line with the principle of international responsibility and burden-sharing," Qureshi stated.

He further emphasised the need to promote lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan through the active and sustained engagement of the international community on political, economic and humanitarian fronts.

Talking separately to the foreign ministers of Austria and Slovenia in New York, Qureshi highlighted the efforts made by Pakistan to facilitate the evacuation and relocation of diplomats and staff of embassies and international organisations from Afghanistan.

He also shared a dossier with his European counterparts which documented India’s grave violations of human rights, international humanitarian law and UN Security Council resolutions in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).