National Security Advisor Dr Moeed Yusuf reiterated on Thursday that abandoning Afghanistan again by the international community would be a mistake.

The NSA told a four-member US delegation, headed by Minority Staff Director Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chris Socha, that the world needed to constructively engage the Afghan Taliban to prevent a governance collapse and avert another refugee crisis.

During the meeting, both sides discussed the situation of Afghanistan along with the ways to enhance cooperation in light of the regional and international developments and challenges.

“Pakistan is coordinating with the world to have a stable and peaceful Afghanistan,” he added.

The two sides also exchanged views on the importance of developing the strategic relationship between Pakistan and the US, and the determination to strengthen ties in all sectors and vital areas of cooperation.

Afghanistan ‘at brink of economic collapse,’ says FM

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also warned on Thursday that Afghanistan was “at the brink of economic collapse,” and the international community must urgently resume funding and provide humanitarian assistance,
Qureshi spoke at the opening of the so-called “troika plus” – a meeting with the US, Chinese, Russian and Taliban diplomats in Islamabad.

The meeting included Thomas West, the new US special envoy for Afghanistan.

“Today, Afghanistan stands at the brink of an economic collapse,” FM Qureshi said in remarks opening the meeting, adding that any further downward slide would “severely limit” the new Taliban government’s ability to run the country.

“It is, therefore, imperative for the international community to buttress provision of humanitarian assistance on an urgent basis,” he said.

The United Nations has repeatedly warned that Afghanistan is on the brink of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with more than half the country facing “acute” food shortages and winter forcing millions to choose between migration and starvation.