CRSS: Pak-Afghan core committee moot

Islamabad: Pakistan is making utmost efforts to facilitate the interim Afghan government and the local Afghans in all sectors, said M Sadiq, Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan.

Mr Sadiq was addressing the members of Pakistan Afghanistan Core Committee during its 9th meeting organised here by Centre for Research and Security Studies as part of its track 1.5/2 initiative Beyond Boundaries.

Mr Sadiq said that we evacuated around 92,000 people from Afghanistan after August 15 and issued more number of visas to the Afghans as compared to the rest of the world during this time. He observed that Pakistan government started free Covid-19 vaccination for the incoming Afghans. Around 3,000 vaccines are being administered daily on Torkham and around 8,000 at Chamman borders. He said that Pakistan is also reaching out to international community to assist Afghans as economic sanctions will result in economic disaster and further brain drain in Afghanistan.

The envoy revealed that Pakistan is having several discussions with Afghanistan to initiate barter trade between both countries adding that Pakistan is willing to train the Afghan doctors and paramedics to cope with the current health challenges. He continued that apart from these CBMs in order to resolve the problems faced by Afghans at border crossing points, it is essential to explore the underlying reasons and mitigate them.

While promising to resolve the issues impending Afghans’ travel to Pakistan, he urged the locals to cooperate with Pakistani officials in order to make their travel easy and smooth.

Members of the committee put forth many recommendations to Mr Sadiq and to Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Establishment Arbab Shahzad. The members were of the view that in order to help Afghan people, the international community needs to find a transitional assistance mechanism to circumvent the issue of recognition of the Taliban regime. Similarly, he said, there is need to find transitional framework to regulate Afghanistan’s trade and transit trade and link it with humanitarian assistance.

International community should support Pakistan to devise a system of health cover for visiting Afghans based on and utilising its existing health card system’s infrastructure in place for its own citizens.