Taliban welcomes international aid

KABUL (Tolo News): Taliban’s government acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi at a press conference in Kabul welcomed the international community’s humanitarian aid pledge for Afghanistan.
At a UN meeting in Geneva, the international community pledged to provide over $1 billion in humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan. Muttaqi said the Taliban will coordinate with the aid providers in reaching the people in need and ensured the transparency of the aid’s distribution. “We ensure that the aid will be distributed transparently to the people,” he said.
A number of the aid providers, however, said they will not give the money directly to the Taliban, but will instead reach the people in need through humanitarian organizations and aid workers. Muttaqi also called on the countries, especially the Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank, to provide development funds to Afghanistan. “We urge the Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank to support Afghanistan in the development sector, in education and in other areas,” he said.
On Afghanistan’s foreign relations, Muttaqi said the Taliban want to have good bilateral relations with the world countries, including the Untied States, adding that no country should pressure Afghanistan. “We want them not to pressure Afghanistan because pressure does not work and does not benefit Afghanistan nor world countries,” he added.
Muttaqi also mentioned Afghanistan’s assets that were frozen by the United States, and said that humanitarian issues should not be mixed with politics. “We provided safe passage for US soldiers to leave Afghanistan, but instead of thanking us the US has frozen Afghanistan’s assets,” he added. Muttaqi once again reiterated that Afghanistan’s territory will not be used against any country and that the Taliban will fulfill their promise in this regard.