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Islamic countries pledge fund to stave off Afghanistan ‘chaos’
Islamic countries pledged on Sunday to set up a humanitarian trust fund for Afghanistan as, with millions facing hunger and a harsh winter setting in, Pakistan’s prime minister warned of chaos if the worsening emergency was not urgently addressed.
The crisis is causing mounting alarm but the international response has been muted, given Western reluctance to help the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) government, which seized power in August, Reuters reported.
“Unless action is taken immediately, Afghanistan is heading for chaos,” Prime Minister Imran Khan told a meeting of foreign ministers from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Islamabad on Sunday.
The trust fund, announced by Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, will be set up under the aegis of the Islamic Development Bank.
Allowing Afghanistan access to reserves frozen outside the country would be key to preventing economic collapse, participants in the meeting – which included representatives from the United Nations, United States, European Union and Japan – said in a statement.
But it was unclear how much the fund would contain and the meeting did not provide official recognition to the IEA government.
Acting Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said the government had restored peace and security and done much to address demands for more inclusiveness with respect for human rights, including the rights of women.
“All must acknowledge that political isolation of Afghanistan is not beneficial for anyone, therefore it is imperative that all support the prevailing stability and back it both politically and economically,” he said.
IEA officials have previously asked for help to rebuild Afghanistan’s shattered economy and feed more than 20 million people threatened with hunger.
Some countries and aid organizations have begun delivering aid, but a near-collapse of the country’s banking system has complicated their work.
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.”
The scale of the challenge has been underlined by crowds gathering outside the newly reopened passport office in Kabul, where hundreds have been lining up for passports that would enable them to leave the country.
Beyond immediate aid, Afghanistan needs help ensuring longer-term economic stability. Much will depend on whether Washington is willing to unfreeze billions of dollars in central bank reserves and lift sanctions that have caused many institutions and governments to shy away from direct dealings with the IEA.
Muttaqi said the IEA would not allow Afghanistan to be used as a base for attacks on other countries and he said no reprisals would be carried out against officials of the former government.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has renewed its commitment to establishing cordial relationships with the international community and stressed practical steps towards the recognition of the IEA government worldwide, according to a statement on Thursday.
The pledge was reaffirmed by Mawlavi Abdul Kabir, political aide of the IEA’s prime minister, during a meeting with UNAMA Deputy Head Markuz Potzel.
He hailed the UN and other agencies for the distribution of aid to vulnerable Afghans and added that the government assured all aid-providing agencies full security, a statement from the political aide office said.
Potzel mentioned the overnight earthquake during the meeting and hoped that the people of Afghanistan had not suffered losses.
But UNAMA on its Twitter wrote that during a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Mawlavi Abdul Kabir, the UN reiterated its unwavering call to reopen schools and universities for Afghan girls and women.
“UNAMA deputy head Potzel Markus met de-facto Deputy Prime Minister Mawlavi Abdul Kabir today, reiterating UN & international community’s unwavering call for the reopening of school and university doors for Afghan girls and women,” UNAMA tweeted.
Kabir meanwhile said that IEA does not oppose girls’ education.
The Kabul Police Commander headquarters shared their annual report with the media at a press conference on Wednesday and stated the overall crime rate in the city has come down.
The head of the criminal investigation unit of the Kabul Police, Mufti Abdul Samad, said during the press conference that the crime rate has dropped through the cooperation of residents.
Before the re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate, each security zone of Kabul city recorded at least 15 vehicle thefts a week. This has been reduced to zero.
In the press conference, the spokesman of the Police Commander of Kabul, Khalid Zadran said that 156 cases of murder have been reported in Kabul city and 14 districts in the past year and that security forces have arrested 36 suspects on charges.
There were 553 cases of robbery from houses, 1,920 cases of fraud and other such incidents, and 2,737 suspects were arrested on charges with these cases, he added.
Kabul police said cooperation of residents was crucial to create a safe environment in the city and prevent crime.
Kabul police also asked all residents to report any suspicious incidents, and inform the detective agencies.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told lawmakers on Wednesday that the State Department has been putting together a review of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and will share findings with Congress by mid-April.
“We’ve now been spending time putting all of this together to make sure that we look at some of the common lessons learned,” Blinken said in testimony to a Senate Appropriations Committee subcommittee hearing.
“I am committed and determined to make that information available to Congress, and we will do that. We will do that by mid-April. So I can tell you today, you’ll have the after-action review. We will share the findings and find the appropriate mechanism to do that within the next three weeks.”
Members of Congress have been demanding information about the August 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years in what was the U.S.’s longest war. The Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee threatened this week to issue a subpoena if the State Department does not produce documents it has requested, Reuters reported.
John Kirby, the top spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, told reporters the main takeaways from the review would be released to the public and shared with the House committee.
Republicans, who took control of the House in January, say there has never been a full accounting of the chaotic operation, in which 13 U.S. service members were killed at Kabul’s airport.
Hundreds of U.S. citizens and many thousands of Afghans who had worked with American forces were left behind as they were seeking to flee from the Taliban, the Islamist militant group that resumed control of Afghanistan.
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