FO asks int’l community to alleviate sufferings of Afghan people

Islamabad: The Foreign Office here on Saturday said Pakistan had seen the U.S. decision to unfreeze the Afghan assets held by the U.S. banks to release $3.5 billion for humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan and $3.5 billion for compensation to families of 9/11 victims.

Responding to media questions, FO spokesperson said over the past several months, Pakistan had been consistently emphasising the need for international community to quickly act to address the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan and to help revive the Afghan economy, as the two were inextricably linked.

“Finding ways to unfreeze the Afghan foreign reserves urgently would help address the humanitarian and economic needs of the Afghan people.”

He said Pakistan’s principled position on the frozen Afghan foreign bank reserves remained that these were owned by the Afghan nation and these should be released. The utilization of Afghan funds should be the sovereign decision of Afghanistan.

The Afghan people were facing grave economic and humanitarian challenges and the international community must continue to play its important and constructive role in alleviating their sufferings. Time was of the essence, he added.