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Author: Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan, Sinologist (ex-Diplomat), Editor, Analyst, Non-Resident Fellow of CCG (Center for China and Globalization), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan. (E-mail: [email protected]).
The US is taking revenge for its humiliating defeat in Afghanistan by imposing sanctions and freezing Afghan assets worth 9.5 Billion US Dollars approximately. A superpower, along with 46 Allies and 11 supporting countries, after spending two trillion US dollars, all types of lethal weapons, hi-tech war tactics, and latest technologies, yet, after twenty years of uninterrupted war, have to face humiliating defeat from Taliban, who were not trained well, nor equipped with appropriate weapons.
The US could not save its face and could not digest the Taliban’s victory. So, the US is using economic measures to take its revenge. As a result of the sanction, not only by the US but also its allies, the Afghan situation has worsened as half of the population is starving and war-torn country, without any infrastructure, no fuel, no food, no medicines, may face the severe winter in a much ugly manner. It can be termed as genocide or catastrophe.
Pakistan is the only country that understands Afghanistan better than any other country, and the only country which suffered most adversely due to unrest and instability in Afghanistan for the last four decades. Pakistan kept on educating the rest of the world on the Afghan crisis and highlighted the need for emergency humanitarian assistance.
Pakistan hosted the 17th extraordinary meeting of the council of foreign ministers of the OIC countries on 19 of December 2021 in Islamabad, to discuss the Afghan situation. The meeting was well attended by the OIC countries, permanent security council members (P-5), EU, UN, and international organizations, etc. It was a unique platform to understand the severe human-made disastrous situation in Afghanistan.
One of the important steps taken by the OIC countries is to set up an emergency relief fund for Afghanistan. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has pledged one billion Saudi Riyals immediately. Many other oil-rich countries have followed too. Almost all OIC countries will donate according to their resources.
The Meeting also urged the US and EU to remove the sanctions and unfreeze their assets to save human lives in Afghanistan. UN has already appealed to the international community to extend humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan on an urgent basis.
Pakistan has been generous toward Afghanistan and offered huge humanitarian assistance according to its resources. But, much more is needed, beyond Pakistan’s capacity. Pakistan is already hosting 3-5 million Afghan refugees, much more than any other country in the world. Since the Taliban recaptured Afghanistan on 15 August 2021, despite strict border measures, yet there is an influx of almost a hundred thousand Afghan refugees. Pakistan has provided land and air route to Afghan aid ad supplies.
China is a major contributing country toward relief and extending liberal humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan. In fact, the neighboring nations are extending humanitarian assistance, but, is much short of actual requirements. It is the collective responsibility of the whole world to save human lives, especially, the countries, who created a human-made crisis in Afghanistan, which should bear all the responsibilities. If the US can spend two trillion Dollars to destroy Afghanistan, why not spend a fraction of it to save their lives.
Historically, Germany and Japan have been paying for war compensation. It is the moral duty of the US to pay war compensation to Afghanistan or at least, save their lives.
It is appealed to all nations and individuals to extend humanitarian assistance as much as you can afford, to fulfill our collective responsibility. Afghan people are braver and self-respected, they are hardworking and possess the potential to stand up on self-reliance soon, but need a booster at this critical moment.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
