Foreign secretary, Australian envoy discuss Afghan situation

Sohail Mahmood terms world community’s engagement critical for humanitarian aid, reaffirms Pakistan's commitment

Australia’s Special Representative on Afghanistan Daniel Sloper on Monday called on Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood and discussed the current Afghan situation.

"Sharing Pakistan’s perspective, the foreign secretary reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to a peaceful, stable and connected Afghanistan and highlighted the efforts supporting of this goal," an official statement said.

He termed the international community’s engagement and assistance critical in helping Afghans address the urgent humanitarian and economic crises.

Mahmood further emphasised the importance of a common regional approach to advance shared objectives and highlighted Pakistan’s initiatives and contributions in this context.

Speaking on the occasion, Sloper shared "Australia’s views on various aspects of the situation in Afghanistan" and "appreciated Pakistan’s role in facilitating the international evacuation efforts," the communique added.

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In November last year, the special representative met the foreign secretary and discussed the developments in Afghanistan and the way forward.

The foreign secretary, while highlighting that the situation in Afghanistan provided an opportunity to end the 40-year-long conflict in the country, had underscored the importance of the international community’s sustained engagement to help promote the shared objectives of a peaceful Afghanistan.

He had also pointed towards the humanitarian and economic challenges in the war-torn country and stressed the need for immediate steps to alleviate the suffering of the Afghan people. “The release of Afghanistan’s financial assets was another step that would be helpful in this regard,” he was quoted as saying.

Mahmood had further highlighted the steps taken by Pakistan to provide humanitarian assistance, promote bilateral trade and economic cooperation, regulate the cross-border movement of people, foster further coordination among Afghanistan’s neighbours, and advance the regional connectivity projects.

Sharing Australia’s viewpoint on different aspects of the Afghanistan situation, Sloper had concurred with the need for sustained engagement and highlighted the steps taken to help address the humanitarian situation.