ISLAMABAD, Dec 24 (APP):Pakistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan on Friday said Pakistan is playing the role of a bridge between the Afghan government and the international community in addressing the issues of an inclusive government, human rights, women rights, rule of law and counter terrorism.
Pakistan is stressing for these important points and peace and stability in Afghanistan since Kabul’s takeover by the Taliban on August 15, he said, adding, these issues should be resolved and progress needed to be made through constructive dialogue between the Afghan government and the international community.
Talking to a select group of journalists here, he said, both sides should find out the middle way of approach by bring flexibility in their stances regarding these issues, and come to the point which is in the interest of both the Afghan people and the international community.
To a question about progress on talks between Pakistan and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), he said the Afghan government had assured us that the Afghan soil would not be used against any other country, and added efforts are being made to continue these talks and resolve the issue with dialogue.
The Pakistani envoy expressed the hope that the talks between Pakistan and TTP would be ‘successful’ and the issue will be resolved peacefully.
About the burgeoning economic and financial issues of Afghanistan, the envoy said economy and financial matters are the biggest issues presently the new Afghan government is confronted with it.
He added the United States froze assets worth nearly $9.5 billion belonging to Da Afghanistan Bank and blocked cash from being shipped to the war-torn nation as a result the Afghan banking system is on the verge of collapse.
Mansoor Ahmad Khan, however, said he is optimistic about a little bit improvement in the current situation following the passage of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution allowing humanitarian and other assistance for the people of Afghanistan, and similarly, the formation of an ‘Afghan Trust Fund’ at the special meeting of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) held in Islamabad on December 19.
To a question about decrease in the volume of trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the envoy said Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan have declined due to the closure of Afghan banks but will resume once financial institutions normalize.
He said Pakistan has now offered a number of incentives to the Afghan exporters and forwarded the Afghan side a number of proposals for free flow of traffic at the crossing points by removing the bottlenecks at the time of clearance of trucks at these points.
He expressed the hope that bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan would improve.
He expects growth in Pakistan-Afghanistan trade as the arrangement has already been announced and government agencies will be operational soon.
