ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The High Commissioner Moazzam Ahmad Khan has said that Pakistan has not taken a decision to recognize the next Taliban government.
Highlighting Pakistan’s perspective on the evolving situation in Afghanistan at BBC Radio4’s flagship programme ‘Today’ this morning, the High Commissioner said that Pakistan is monitoring the situation in Afghanistan closely and is in touch with friends and partners in the international community in this regard.
The High Commissioner said that Pakistan’s views about the new Taliban regime are the same as those of the international community, i.e., that the future dispensation should be broad-based and inclusive, and that human rights including women’s rights should be respected.
Moazzam Ahmad Khan stressed on the need for the international community to stay constructively engaged with Afghanistan keeping in view the ground realities. He said that the effort at this point should be to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe and pre-empt mass exodus of refugees.
The High Commissioner Moazzam Ahmad Khan told that Pakistan is doing everything possible to help evacuate diplomats, NGO workers, journalists and foreign nationals from Afghanistan. He told that a large number are being facilitated on a daily basis.
Moazzam Ahmad underscored that Pakistan is already hosting four million Afghan refugees and doesn’t possess the capacity to take in more.
In addition, he said that the COVID-19 pandemic has made matters worse.
The High Commissioner said that in order to regulate the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Pakistan has been fencing it for some years, and has completed 97% of the task.
Moazzam Ahmad further said that Pakistan has consistently maintained that there is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan, and that a political settlement is the only viable option.
