‘10,000 NATO people arrived, 9,000 left for their countries’

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain has said the federal cabinet meeting, chaired by prime minister on Tuesday, expressed complete solidarity with the people of Afghanistan.

Briefing the media and replying to their questions about the cabinet meeting, he said 10,302 persons, concerning NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organisation] and its allies, came to Pakistan during the withdrawal process, out of which 9,032 had left for their countries, and the rest, 1,229 would leave the country soon.

He explained that those currently in Pakistan included 155 Americans, of which 42 belonging to the US forces, would be leaving Pakistan on Tuesday. He said those evacuated and brought to Pakistan included 684 of different nationalities and 545 Afghans.

Apart from the Chaman border, he said that 2,421 people arrived in the country from the Torkham border, consisting of 1,570 Pakistanis and 821 Afghans. He pointed out that almost all Pakistani families had been evacuated from Kabul and other areas, while a small number had stayed back in the Afghan capital.

Fawad Ch said Pakistan would continue to work with various international organisations to help the Afghan people and hoped that the 40-year history of sufferings of the Afghan people would end now, and they would heave a sigh of relief. “And we will be able to further strengthen our ties with a stable Afghanistan,” he added.

He said the manner Pakistan helped the international observers and institutions to leave Afghanistan was exemplary and the whole world was praising Pakistan's conduct in the evacuation process, and praises had been showered on the PIA over its role.

“We have promised from day one that we will assist in the evacuation process, even if they do not belong to any country, we will help them get out of Afghanistan,” he said.

The information minister said that during the cabinet meeting, the prime minister told Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin and Energy Minister Hammad Azhar that it was necessary to bring down the price of LPG cylinders. Only 28% of Pakistan use piped gas and the rest use LPG cylinders. He was confident that gas prices would come down very soon.

He said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was the first government to talk of electoral reforms, adding that no government had ever called for electoral reforms: The debate on electoral reform was a fundamental one. If elections are not free, fair and transparent, democracy cannot be imagined in the country.

Fawad said “We are trying to move forward with the opposition on electoral reforms. Unfortunately, the people of our opposition have to oppose in any case. They will even join hands with the devil to oppose the government. If they come up with proposals, we are ready to consider them,” he added.

He said Shehbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto did not even read the draft electoral reforms and the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) so far. It is a frivolous attitude that they had started a discussion on the electoral reforms and the PMDA without even reading them.

Fawad said the cabinet was also briefed on the $3 billion pipeline project between Russia and Pakistan, which would open a new dimension and economic path between the two countries. Premier Imran had also invited Russian President Viladmir Putin to visit Pakistan.

He said the PM spoke to his British counterpart Boris Johnson about Pakistan's inclusion in the UK red list and the British government believed that there was a need to discuss testing procedures inside Pakistan. “We are trying our best to get Pakistan out of the red list of Britain so that we can move forward on this matter,” he noted and said the government was making efforts for Pakistan to be taken off the list since it was a matter of importance to many Pakistanis.

The minister explained that 1.4 million people were vaccinated in Pakistan on Monday and “now we will be able to vaccinate children up to the age of 17”. On tax collection, he said 64% more tax was collected in August this year compared to the last year. “We are collecting record tax and hopefully the process will continue in upcoming months,” he added.

Regarding the situation in Afghanistan, the minister said the air corridor opened to provide aid to Afghanistan would remain operational. “We have a message for the Afghan people that we pray for your peace and stability and will do whatever is possible to provide relief,” he added.

On the recognition of a new government in Afghanistan, he said Pakistan's policy was clear that it would not take any decision in isolation. He said presently two tracks were working: one regional and the other global, on the matter.

When asked for comment on recent attacks against the Pakistan Army from the Afghan border, he said, “It is not as if there will be changes the very next day the government is changed. This is a process and we should wait. The new Afghan authorities have given a clear stance and we hope they won't allow Afghanistan's soil to be used against any country”.

For such things, he pointed out, funding was always done from outside while to control matters inside Pakistan, was its own responsibility and “we are not weak at all”. He said there would be reduction in Indian mischief and funding to use Afghan soil against Pakistan.

He said that recently non-Taliban groups had met the prime minister, foreign minister and officials of the security forces and these meetings were very good. He added the regional and global tracks were in progress and things would move forward accordingly through engagement.