ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser stressed collective international efforts to address the impending humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, said a press release on Monday.
“The situation in Afghanistan warrants immediate steps otherwise the ultimate suffer would be the marginalised Afghan population,” Speaker Qaiser told US Congressmen Gregory Meeks and Ami Bera. The two had called on the speaker at the Parliament House.
Speaker Qaiser said that the international community should immediately step forward and address the looming humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. In case of a delay the ultimate sufferers would be the old aged, women and children, he added.
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The custodian of the House stressed over creating border markets or border economic zones so that the Afghan economy self-sustains instead of depending on foreign assistance. He shared that Pakistan’s only agenda is to not let terrorism pop up in Afghanistan again.
“Pakistan and US share the same human values and liberties,” said speaker Qaiser. He added that the Parliament had legislated on the rights of women, children, religious monitories and transgenders.
“Media is an important part of governance thus protection of their rights was imperative so that they could perform their duties without fear or foe,” said the speaker. He added that the Parliament had recently passed the Journalist Protection Act in this regard.
Referring to the Pakistan-US relations, the speaker said that Pakistan values its longstanding relationship with Washington.
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“Constructive engagement between both the countries would promote peace, security and development in the region,” said speaker Qaiser.
Replying to a query by then congressmen, the speaker said that the present government had legislated to ensure international transparency and had also empowered the State Bank of Pakistan apart from incentivising the economic and manufacturing sectors to achieve their potential.
On the other hand, Meeks agreed that parliamentary engagement would strengthen existing bilateral relations between Islamabad and Washington. He appreciated the Pakistani leadership for amicably handling the economic crisis during Covid-19.
He also termed the contributions of Pakistan for climate change and renewable energies, immense.
“Pakistan is playing its responsible role in mitigating the effect of global warming,” said the speaker. He said that a major portion of his constituents was of Pakistani descent and he would take the good news with him back to them regarding voting rights granted to overseas Pakistanis.
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While US Congressman Bera termed the relations between US and Pakistan based on trust and cooperation. He appreciated the contributions of Pakistani women legislators in lawmaking. He also praised the government of Pakistan for successfully dealing with the recession during the global pandemic.
