Pakistan to help Afghanistan to go through the hard time.

[ghazi52]

Pakistan helping in plans to fly medical supplies to Afghanistan: WHO

Sat, 28 Aug 2021, 10:53 AM

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 28 (APP) Pakistan is supporting efforts to fly humanitarian supplies into Afghanistan where medical stocks are dwindling and the airport in Kabul crippled by a terrorist attack, a senior Wold Health Organization (WHO) said in Geneva Friday.

“We have only a few days of supplies left and we’re exploring all options to bring more medicines into the country,” Dr. Rick Brennan, Regional Emergency Director with the WHO Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO), speaking during the bi-weekly briefing by UN agencies.

He told reporters the first Pakistani flight carrying humanitarian supplies will hopefully leave in the coming days to Mazar-i-Sharif.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is also establishing a “humanitarian airbridge”, with flights also expected to take off soon.

Meanwhile, UN Spokesman Stephane Dujrarric told APP that during Secretary-General Antonio Guterres phone conversation with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday, he thanked for Pakistan’s support for UN operations in Afghanistan and their generosity towards Afghan refugees.

Prior to Thursday’s attack, WHO had planned three airlifts of trauma kits, emergency health kits, essential medicines and supplies for hospitals and health centres in Afghanistan, but the items remained grounded due to security and operational issues at the Hamid Karzai International Airport, kit was pointed out.

The blasts on Thursday targeted Afghans fleeing the country and military personnel securing the facility. More than 170 people were killed, according to media reports. The ISIS- K has claimed responsibility.

The UN condemned the attack, and has stressed the critical importance of the airport for facilitating the entry of aid workers and humanitarian relief. Although around 97 per cent of the roughly 2,200 health facilities in Afghanistan are functioning, they are running short of supplies to treat people affected by conflict, displacement, drought, malnutrition, and the coronavirus pandemic.

“Because of security concerns and several other operational considerations, Kabul airport is not going to be an option for the next week at least,” Dr. Brennan said.

“One of the challenges we have in Afghanistan right now is there’s no Civil Aviation Authority functioning. But we are working with the Pakistanis, particularly in the context of Mazar-i-Sharif Airport, because they can work with contacts on the ground to ensure that all the necessary steps to land an aircraft, to land a cargo aircraft, can be put in place”.

He added that insurance costs for bringing an aircraft into Afghanistan have “skyrocketed” overnight, reaching prices never seen before.

 

[ghazi52]

Pakistan calls for investment in peace to boost counter terrorism efforts in Afghanistan

Sat, 28 Aug 2021, 12:12 PM

WASHINGTON, Aug 28 (APP): Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Asad Majeed Khan, has said that investment in peace in Afghanistan would be the best way to counter terrorism, as he underlined the need for an inclusive government to ensure long-term stability of the war-ravaged country.

“If there is no peace in Afghanistan, there would be ungoverned spaces where terrorist groups could potentially find safe havens as before”, he said in an interview with ZDF, a German television channel.

Ambassador Khan said Pakistan had in the past cooperated with the international community in fighting terrorism and, while it paid a very heavy prices in terms of lives and economic damage, Islamabad would continue its cooperation in combating the menace as it faces threats from some terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan.
“We have given a commitment to the international community that our territory would not be used against anyone and we would hope that whosoever forms government in Afghanistan will also make sure that the Afghan territory is not used against any country,” the Pakistani envoy said.


In this regard, he said that the signals from Afghanistan are positive, as the Talibans have started listening to the concerns of the international community.

On its part, the ambassador said Pakistan had cleared and cleansed all the tribal areas of terrorists. Pakistan has also built a complete fence along the border with Afghanistan to make sure that no one crosses over and come into Pakistani territory.
Replying to a question, he said, Pakistan has had very close relationships both with United States and China. In fact, Pakistan had played a role in bringing Washington and Beijing together.


“Afghanistan is one place where we would want to see international community work as a partner, so that Afghanistan becomes an arena for cooperation rather than confrontation,” the Pakistani envoy said. The extended troika, comprising China, Russia, United States and Pakistan, he pointed out had issued a consensus declaration recognizing that conflict and instability in Afghanistan was is not good for any country.

Ambassador Khan also said Pakistan was closely monitoring the situation in Afghanistan and right now was focused on helping the international community with the evacuation of people wanting to leave the country.
“I think right no
w what is really important is to make sure that things don’t fall in Afghanistan and that the crises does not turn to a humanitarian catastrophe and that all the key players and stake holders are talking to each other and work towards an inclusive, all embracing government where all Afghan ethnicities are represented.”

 

[ghazi52]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1430648618525106177

 

[ghazi52]

LAHORE/ KARACHI:
Pakistan on Friday accepted a request to host the US citizens and other foreigners leaving Afghanistan in a bid to aid the withdrawal of people from the neighbouring country by August 31.

According to reports, up to 3,000 people will be brought to Karachi.

Flights carrying foreigners from Kabul, Afghanistan would start landing at the Jinnah International Airport from today (Saturday).

The Karachi commissioner has also sent a letter to Sindh DG Rangers, Sindh IG police and Sindh Health Department secretary to ensure proper and necessary arrangements on an emergency basis.

The commissioner informed the department concerned about a meeting held at the Corps Five Headquarters that the people coming from Afghanistan would be staying in the metropolis for a few days.

The commissioner in his letter directed the Malir deputy commissioner to make emergency arrangements at the Karachi airport premises and nearby hotels as well as provide security to those arriving in Karachi with the help of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and law enforcement agencies.

The commissioner also ordered ensuring transport arrangements among other facilities, including mobile health department units and ambulances. Medical personnel were also asked to be deployed at the identified locations.

Moreover, the K-Electric has also been directed to ensure uninterrupted power supply at the designated locations.

Separately on Friday, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said that the federal government had successfully evacuated all its citizens, who wanted to return to the country, from Afghanistan.

However, he added, there were some Pakistanis who did not want to leave Afghanistan for their personal reasons and, therefore, they were still there.

Addressing a news conference at the National Database and Registration Authority, the minister said that the federal government had issued transit visas to 1,500 people, while about 1,480 people were given access to Pakistan’s territories through Torkham border crossing.

“Both Torkham and Chaman border crossings are open for those intending to travel to Pakistan if they have valid documents,” he added.

Rashid said that it had been decided to issue 21-day transit visas to all foreigners including members of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), delegates, journalists and others at the Islamabad airport and Torkham border crossing, adding that the world community had appreciated the Pakistan government efforts to evacuate its citizens besides foreigners from Afghanistan.

An emergency helpline was being set up by the interior ministry to register people’s complaints pertaining to any issue and law and order situation, he said and added that the Indian media was resorting to baseless criticism as the Indian intelligence agency, RAW, had attempted to hatch conspiracies against China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which had been foiled. “CPEC is of paramount importance for progress and prosperity of Pakistan,” he added.

 

[BATMAN]

He told reporters the first Pakistani flight carrying humanitarian supplies will hopefully leave in the coming days to Mazar-i-Sharif.

This is all what is related to punch line, in all of the above articles.

What invoke my interest was that people of pdf hate Afghans who are of Pashtoon ethnicity, not those who were imported by Zardari and are not Pashtoons.
I was wondering how come they did not come out to curse Afghan Pashtoons and on the occasion.
As expected, there was no disappointment, and the aid is actually for those foreigners who were imported in Afghanistan by US and were used to slaughtered Afghan Pashtoons like sheep. It's the same foreigners who with support of Indians have carried terrorism in Pakistan for 2 decades.

 

[cloud4000]

The US was subsidizing Afghan government with billions of dollars. Where is Pakistan going to get billions to help the Taliban?

 

[ghazi52]

Where do the Taliban get their money?

BBC interviews carried out inside Afghanistan and abroad indicate the group are running a sophisticated financial network and taxation system.

They have developed a number of income sources. We've looked into some of the main ones.


1. Foreign donations

Several Afghan and US officials have long accused certain countries - including Pakistan, Iran and Russia - of giving financial aid to the Taliban. This is a practice they frequently deny.
However, private citizens from Pakistan and several Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are considered to be the largest individual contributors.

Although impossible to measure exactly, these sources of funding are thought to provide a significant proportion of the Taliban's revenue. According to experts it could be as much as $500m a year.
These links are long-standing. A classified US intelligence report estimated that in 2008 the Taliban received $106m from foreign sources, in particular from the Gulf states.



2. Drug trade

The Taliban have long been thought to run a taxation system to cover their insurgent operations, including on the illegal drug trade.

Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium, which can be refined to make heroin.

With an estimated annual export value of $1.5-$3bn, opium is big business, supplying the overwhelming majority of heroin worldwide.

Opium harvesting provided almost 120,000 jobs in Afghanistan in 2019, according to the UN

A 10% cultivation tax is collected from opium farmers, according to Afghan government officials.

Taxes are also reportedly collected from the laboratories converting opium into heroin, as well as the traders who smuggle the illicit drugs.

Estimates of the Taliban's annual earnings from the illicit drug economy range from $100m-$400m.

The drug trade accounts for up to 60% of the Taliban's annual revenue, said US commander General John Nicholson in the 2018 Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (Sigar) report.
But some experts say this figure is an overestimation.

The Taliban often deny their involvement in the drug industry, and take pride in having banned opium poppy cultivation for a period while in power in 2000.



3. Expanding areas of control

The Taliban's financial network extends well beyond taxing just the opium business.

In an open letter in 2018, the Taliban warned Afghan traders to pay their taxes on various goods - including fuel and construction material - when travelling through areas they controlled.

After ousting the Afghan government, the Taliban now controls all the major trade routes in the country, as well as border crossings - creating more potential sources of revenue from imports and exports.

Over the past two decades, a significant amount of Western money has also unintentionally ended up in Taliban pockets.

Firstly, the Taliban have taxed development and infrastructure projects - including roads, schools, and clinics - mostly funded by the West.

Secondly, the Taliban are thought to have made tens of millions of dollars annually from taxing truckers supplying international forces stationed in various parts of the country.

They are also thought to have made a significant amount of money from services provided by the Afghan government.

The head of Afghanistan's Electricity Company told the BBC in 2018 that the Taliban were earning more than $2m a year by billing electricity consumers in different parts of the country.

And there is also income generated directly from conflict. Each time the Taliban captures a military post or an urban centre, they empty treasuries and seizes scores of weapons, as well as cars and armoured vehicles.


4. Mines and minerals

Afghanistan is rich in minerals and precious stones, much of it under-exploited as a result of the years of conflict. The mining industry in Afghanistan is worth an estimated $1bn annually, according to Afghan government officials.

Most of the extraction is small scale and much of it is done illegally.

Lapis stones - often used in jewellery - are mined in Afghanistan

The Taliban have taken control of mining sites and extorted money from ongoing legal and illegal mining operations.

In its 2014 annual report, the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team said the Taliban received more than $10m a year from 25 to 30 illegal mining operations in southern Helmand province.

 

[BATMAN]

The US was subsidizing Afghan government with billions of dollars. Where is Pakistan going to get billions to help the Taliban?

i'm asking out of curiosity, please show me source of your information.

View attachment 773841

Quite a catch... Taliban with Afghan national flag... interesting.

 

[ghazi52]

Taliban has party flag, other is country flag (still in use).
The flag will be changed after the set up of government.

 

[cloud4000]

i'm asking out of curiosity, please show me source of your information.


Quite a catch... Taliban with Afghan national flag... interesting.

According to this report:

https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/R45122.pdf

The US has spent about $144 billion in Afghanistan, including governance, development, aid, and security.

 

[ghazi52]

A Flight Radar image shows path of PIA flight. PHOTO: APP
First PIA flight carrying WHO medical supplies lands in Mazar-i-Sharif


Flight took essential supplies in line with Pakistan’s role of making ‘humanitarian air bridge’
APP
August 30, 2021


MAZAR-I-SHARIF: As part of the humanitarian air bridge, the first cargo flight of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) carrying medical supplies of the World Health Organization (WHO) landed in Mazar-i-Sharif on Monday.

The PK-234 (Boeing 777 AP-BHV), flew from Dubai and landed at the Mazar-i-Sharif Airport – the first international flight to Afghanistan’s fourth-largest city after the Taliban took over.

As PIA is providing air transport for the operation, the WHO will be arranging logistics on the ground.

Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmed Khan confirmed that the PIA cargo flight took essential supplies of WHO to Mazar-i-Sharif in line with Pakistan’s role of making a ‘humanitarian air bridge’ in coordination with international agencies.