Pakistan only speak for 38 million Afghan people: FM Qureshi

The Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi has called for rebooting the banking system of Afghanistan and said that this will be the first big step towards the economic stability of the country.

According to media reports, the Foreign Minister has made these remarks during his media interaction in Islamabad on Friday. He said Pakistan and the OIC countries may contribute to the capacity building of the Afghans.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi has pointed out that many Afghan nationals living abroad want to help their families back home by remitting the money. He urged the international community to reach out ordinary Afghans suffering immensely for no fault of theirs.

The Foreign Minister has warned the world of looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and said Pakistan being an immediate neighbour is concerned over the situation because it has an interest in peace and stability of Afghanistan. He said the extraordinary session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, to be held on Sunday, is aimed at drawing the world attention towards the plight of Afghan people. The OIC has been supporting the Afghan people over the years.

Also read: Isolating Afghanistan would be disadvantageous for world: PM Imran Khan warns

Shah Mahmood Qureshi has salso warned that if the attention was not paid to avert the humanitarian crisis and economic collapse in Afghanistan, this will become the largest humanitarian crisis in the world and all the gains of the last twenty years will evaporate. The international terrorist organizations will also take advantage of this situation and increase their footprints in Afghanistan, he said.

“There is a possibility of peace and stability in Afghanistan after forty years and if this is missed, we should be prepared for a new exodus of refugees which will not only affect Pakistan, the neighbouring countries but also the whole world including the European countries,” he said, adding that Pakistan has transported relief goods to Afghanistan. He, however, stressed that mitigating the challenges faced by the Afghan people is a shared responsibility.

While answering a question, he said Pakistan stands by the Afghan people, clarifying that Pakistan is neither advocate nor spokesperson for the Taliban. He said we are only speaking for thirty-eight million Afghan people.