ISLAMABAD: European Council President Charles Michael on Thursday telephoned Prime Minister Imran Khan and discussed the situation unfolding in Afghanistan and thanked him for evacuating European nationals working for different international organisations in the war-torn country.

The prime minister told the EC president that a stable and peaceful Afghanistan was in the interest of Pakistan and the region.

The prime minister underscored the imp­ortance of ensuring safety and security as well as protection of rights of all Afghan citizens.

He stressed that an inclusive political settlement was the best course forward and expressed the hope that Afghan leaders would continue to work together to achieve that end.

The prime minister and the president of Eur­opean Council agreed that both sides must remain in contact and coordinate closely with each other on the situation in Afghanistan.

The prime minister also received a telephone call from President of Asian Development Bank Masatsugu Asakawa. The Asian Development Bank president appreciated Pakistan’s role in facilitating evacuation of ADB staff stranded in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), David Beasley, praised Pakistan’s support for repairing WFP’s damaged planes returning from Kabul and establishing a “humanitarian air bridge” to the war-torn country.

“Our damaged planes from Kabul have been repaired, and WFP is now ready to establish a humanitarian air bridge between Islamabad and Kabul and other destinations in Afghanistan. This will allow us to scale up to meet the needs of the Afghan people. Thank you, Government of Pakistan,” the WFP chief said in a tweet.

Standing at the Islamabad Airport, the Rome-based WFP official posted a video message on his official account with the repaired UN and WFP aircraft parked on the tarmac in the background.

David Beasley mentioned that helicopters and passenger aircraft flying from Islamabad to Kabul had formed an air bridge, bringing UN personnel, NGOs and aid workers back into operations.

Mr Beasley also called Prime Minister Imran Khan and appreciated Pakistan’s role in facilitating the work of his organisation in providing food assistance to the people of Afghanistan.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2021