Pakistan, Russia to ‘coordinate’ positions on Afghanistan

The leaders of Pakistan and Russia have held telephone conversations to “coordinate” their position on the situation in Afghanistan, statements from both governments say, ahead of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) later this week.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan spoke on Tuesday, the statements said.

“While exchanging views on the situation in Afghanistan, both parties voiced their interest in coordinating both countries’ approaches for the sake of stabilising it,” read a brief Russian statement.

The Pakistani statement on the meeting also said “close coordination and consultations between Pakistan and Russia on the evolving situation in Afghanistan were of crucial importance”.

That statement offered further detail on Khan’s comments during the meeting, which focused on the need for peace and stability in Afghanistan and what Pakistan expected from the international community in this regard.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan underlined the need for the international community to remain engaged in Afghanistan,” read the Pakistani statement.

“He stressed that the Afghan people should not be abandoned at this crucial juncture.”

Khan also called for an urgent dispatch of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and for measures to be taken to avert an economic crisis.

On Monday, international donors pledged more than $1bn in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to address hunger and poverty since the Taliban took over that country last month.

The World Food Programme has warned that more than 14 million Afghans could be pushed to the brink of starvation if immediate aid is not provided.

The US Federal Reserve, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, meanwhile, have continued a freeze on Afghan assets, a measure put in place after the Taliban seized power from the elected Afghan government in August.