Afghanistan’s two neighbors, China and Pakistan have called on the world to help the Afghan people as soon as possible so that the situation there does not turn into a humanitarian catastrophe.
Beijing and Islamabad said in a joint statement that the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan focused on bilateral relations as well as the current situation in Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan is on four-day visit to Beijing on February 3 at the invitation of China, where he attended the opening ceremony of Winter Olympics games. Also he had met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Li Keqiang and other leaders.
“A united and secure Afghanistan is essential for the prosperity and development of the region,” A post-meeting joint statement said.
The two leaders described the last two meetings of the foreign ministers of neighboring countries on Afghanistan as satisfactory and despite plans to hold a similar meeting in China, China-Pakistan and Afghanistan have also indicated readiness for a trilateral meeting of foreign ministers.
The statement said both sides had removed obstacles to humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan in order to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.
Both sides called on the international community to release Afghanistan’s financial assets and agreed to hold talks with Afghanistan to extend the economic corridor between China and Pakistan to Afghanistan.
A number of Pakistani politicians have criticized Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to China for not welcoming the Chinese president.
But Pakistan’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry claimed that prime minister visit to China was a success and that leaders of all countries were welcomed like Prime Minister Imran Khan.
