Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan and Russian President Vladimir Putin have held telephonic conversations to “coordinate” their position on the Afghanistan situation ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) later this week.
Both countries issued separate statements saying that the telephonic discussion took place on Tuesday.
Pakistan’s statement said that the meeting highlighted the crucial importance of “close coordination and consultations between Pakistan and Russia on the evolving situation in Afghanistan”.
That statement also noted Khan’s comments, which focused on the need for peace and stability in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s expectations from the international community in this regard.
The statement said, “Prime Minister Imran Khan underlined the need for the international community to remain engaged in Afghanistan. He stressed that the Afghan people should not be abandoned at this crucial juncture.”
Khan also urged the global community to dispatch urgent humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan along with taking concrete measures to avoid the potentially devastating economic crisis.
Meanwhile, the Russian statement said, “While exchanging views on the situation in Afghanistan, both parties voiced their interest in coordinating both countries’ approaches for the sake of stabilising it.”
Earlier on Monday, international donors pledged over $1bn in humanitarian aid to the war-torn country to address critical issues such as hunger and poverty following the Taliban takeover last month.
The World Food Programme says over 14 million Afghans are on the brink of starvation if immediate aid is not provided.
Despite the impending catastrophe, the US Federal Reserve, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund have continued a freeze on Afghan assets, a retaliatory measure in response to the Taliban’s rise to power.
