World News | Pak Army Chief Urges for Joint International Efforts to Avoid Impending Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan

Islamabad, Dec 20 (PTI) Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday urged for joint international efforts to avoid the impending humanitarian crisis in the war-torn Afghanistan.

Gen Bajwa made the remarks during a meeting with US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West, who called on him at the army headquarters in Rawalpindi.

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During the meeting, matters of mutual interest, current security situation in Afghanistan and bilateral cooperation opportunities in the context were discussed, according to a statement issued by the army.

Gen Bajwa said that the “world and the region cannot afford an unstable Afghanistan, stressing upon the need for global convergence to avert a looming humanitarian catastrophe,” it added.

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Afghanistan's economy is facing a major crisis after the Taliban seized power in Kabul in mid-August, amid a chaotic US and NATO troops withdrawal from the war-torn country.

Following hardline Islamists assuming power in Afghanistan, the international community froze billions of dollars' worth of assets abroad and stopped all funding to the country.

According to UN figures from early November, almost 24 million people in Afghanistan, around 60 per cent of the population, suffer from acute hunger. That includes 8.7 million living in near-famine. Increasing numbers of malnourished children have filled hospital wards.

Gen Bajwa also thanked Thomas West for participating in the 17th extraordinary session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Sunday in Islamabad.

The OIC summit passed a unanimous resolution underscoring the need for concerted efforts to rebuild the necessary capacity of the relevant state institutions of Afghanistan to address challenges posed by terrorism, narcotics, smuggling, money laundering, organised crime, and irregular migration.

The US Special Representative for Afghanistan appreciated Pakistan's role in the Afghan situation, special efforts for effective Pak-Afghan border management, and pledged to play his part for further improvement in diplomatic cooperation with Pakistan at all levels, the statement added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)