“Unless action is taken immediately, Afghanistan is heading for chaos,” Prime Minister Imran Khan
Islamic countries pledged on Sunday to set up a humanitarian trust fund for Afghanistan where millions facing hunger amid harsh winter. The trust fund will be set up under the aegis of the Islamic Development Bank.
The decision was taken at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit held in Islamabad on December 19.
Pakistan hosted the 17th Extraordinary Session of the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers, called by Saudi Arabia, to rally Muslims and other countries and international institutions to come in aid of Afghanistan.
The crisis is mounting alarm but the response of the international community has been muted as Western countries are reluctant to help the Taliban government.
“Unless action is taken immediately, Afghanistan is heading for chaos,” Prime Minister Imran Khan told the OIC summit attended by 70 delegations from more than 50 countries.
“Any government when it can’t pay its salaries for its public servants, hospitals, doctors, nurses, any government is going to collapse but chaos suits no one, it certainly does not suit the United States.”
Allowing Afghanistan access to reserves frozen outside the country would be key to preventing economic collapse, said the participants which included representatives from the United Nations, United States, European Union, Russia and Japan.
Some countries and aid organizations have begun delivering aid, but a near-collapse of the country’s banking system has complicated their work.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said unlocking financial and banking channels was essential “because the economy can’t function and people can’t be helped without a banking system.”