Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Sunday asked the United States (US) to release frozen $9 billion assets of Afghanistan or else, he warned that the crisis will escalate.

While talking to the media in Islamabad, he suggested the international community to directly spend on education, health, and food sectors in Afghanistan if it is not willing to recognise the Taliban government.

The minister emphasised such measures are necessary to avert the looming crisis in Afghanistan.

Read more: Over half of Afghan population suffering from food scarcity: FM Qureshi

Fawad said the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Foreign Ministers’ Conference is a major moot on Afghanistan, where the situation is progressively worsening and women and children are gravely affected.

He recalled that Pakistan has given Rs5 billion worth of aid to Afghanistan but his country couldn’t be left alone to support the war-torn nation.

Read more: World can ill afford to have an unstable Afghanistan: COAS

He added that bearing such a burden alone is not possible for any economy in the world. If the situation further deteriorates in Afghanistan, a great human tragedy could ensue, Fawad warned.

“We do not want people to migrate from Afghanistan,” Fawad said, adding such a situation could cause difficulties for regional countries including Pakistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.