PM hails UN appeal for Afghan funds

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday welcomed the United Nations’ funding pledge of more than $5 billion for Afghanistan to avert collapsing of basic services in the war-ravaged country.

The prime minister said that the UN initiative was the result of the outcome of a special meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign ministers hosted by Pakistan.

In a tweet, he reiterated his earlier appeals to the international community to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. “We welcome this UN initiative which has followed Pak-initiated special OIC FMs mtg’s [meeting] pledged support,” Imran posted on his twitter handle.

“I have been making this appeal to int[ernational] community to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan where the ppl [people] have suffered ravages of 40 yrs [years] of conflict,” the prime minister added in the tweet.

Speaking in Geneva on Tuesday, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths has said that $4.4 billion was needed for the Afghanistan Humanitarian Response Plan alone, to pay health workers and others.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said that they were launching an appeal for $4.4 billion for Afghanistan itself for 2022. “This is the largest ever appeal for a single country for humanitarian assistance and it is three times the amount needed, and actually fundraised in 2021.”

According to a press statement of the UN, the collapsing structure in the war-torn country had left 22 million in need of assistance inside the country, and 5.7 million people requiring help beyond its borders.

Addressing a special session in Geneva to mark the launching of the appeal, Pakistan’s ambassador Khalilur Rahman Hashmi called for revival of banking systems in Afghanistan and urged the international community to consider Afghanistan’s economic needs.

In Islamabad, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood met a delegation from European countries and exchanged views on the regional situation, especially with respect to the developments in Afghanistan, the Foreign Office said.

Read More: UN seeks record $5b in aid for Afghanistan to avert ‘humanitarian catastrophe'

The foreign secretary emphasized that consolidation of peace and stability in Afghanistan, including by ensuring the averting of a humanitarian crisis and economic collapse, would go a long way in preventing a possible exodus of Afghans from their country.

Secretary Mahmood highlighted Pakistan’s commitment to hosting more than 3 million Afghan refugees for over 40 years. He called for greater support from the international community to the refugee hosting countries in accordance with the principle of international burden and responsibility sharing.

Also National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yususf chaired a meeting of the Afghan Inter-Ministerial Coordination Cell. The NSA told the meeting that the Interior Ministry had introduced an elaborate mechanism to facilitate relief activities of international non-government organisations in Afghanistan.

The meeting was informed that new international NGOs as well as those already registered would benefit from this mechanism. The NSA appreciated the initiative and said it would immensely help in humanitarian assistance efforts for the people of Afghanistan.

(WITH INPUT FROM APP AND NEWS DESK)