Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo supports UN chief’s call to help the Afghan people
Newswire
Rome: Senior Italian diplomat Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo this week supported the call of the UN chief António Guterres to help the Afghan people.
Ambassador Pontecorvo pointed to a tweet by António Guterres in which he said the “daily life has become a frozen hell for the people of Afghanistan. As a matter of moral responsibility — and regional and global security and prosperity — we cannot abandon them. They need peace. They need hope. They need help. And they need it now.”
The UN chief earlier appreciated Pakistan and Iran for showing unforgettable generosity in hosting millions of Afghans.
“I will never forget the generosity of countries like Pakistan and Iran, which — for decades — have hosted millions of Afghans in need,” the UN chief said at a Security Council debate on Afghanistan earlier this week.
“At this moment, we need the global community — and this Council — to put their hands on the wheel of progress, provide resources, and prevent Afghanistan from spiraling any further,” he added.
Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Munir Akram, told the participants that his country was “doing all it can to help our Afghan brothers and sisters”.
Akram said there is no justification for depriving the Afghan people of their national assets “We continue to care for nearly 4 million Afghan refugees, until they are able to return to their homes,” said the Pakistani envoy while reminding the world that humanitarian assistance alone could not revive the Afghan economy.
“Above all, it is vital to unfreeze Afghanistan’s reserves. There is no legal justification for depriving the Afghan people of their national assets,” he said.
Soon after the Aug 15 Taliban takeover of Kabul, the United States froze nearly $9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank and stopped shipments of cash to the nation to prevent the regime from accessing the money.
In December, the 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation met in Islamabad and resolved to work with the United Nations to get the frozen assets unlocked.
