For the past few weeks, Qatar remained a hive of diplomatic activities as top diplomats from across the world were visiting the country for talks with the leaders on several issues related mainly to the evacuation of their nationals and servicemen from Afghanistan and lately to address the issues stemming from the fluid political situation there.
Several countries were totally dependent on Qatar to facilitate safe evacuation of their people and Afghans who helped as translators and facilitators during the period before the Taliban blitz. Qatar has hosted some 58,000 evacuees, opening even the facilities kept ready for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar. The country, as a transit point, has been doing more than what was expected, providing housing, meals, health care and COVID-19 vaccines to the evacuees.
Qatar didn’t stop their, instead the country has been focusing on the humanitarian need of the common people who were left to fend for themselves after the withdrawal of the Nato and US troops, which eventually led to the collapse of the Afghan government after the fleeing of President Ashraf Ghani. Qatar was one of the first countries to raise the alarm about the impending humanitarian disaster in the war-ravaged Afghanistan if the international community failed to act in time.
Realising this, the country sent a team of specialised technical to work on the repair and restoration of the international airport in Kabul with the primary aim of allowing the arrival of humanitarian aid and relief material and the country has been sending plane-loads of aid material every day since the reopening of the airport.
Minister of State for Foreign Affaris H E Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi told a Ministerial Meeting on the Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan that Qatar has provided last week about 188 tonnes of urgent food and medical supplies adding that Qatar’s financial contribution and assistance to support Afghanistan will reach $50m. Qatar also facilitated the distribution of vital humanitarian aid and medical supplies by the United Nations and programmes of primary education.
The international community should not fail to understand the dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan at this moment as the country’s assets kept in foreign countries remain frozen creating a foreign exchange crisis and conundrum for the new rulers. The country’s central bank, Da Afghanistan Bank, cannot access some $10bn of its foreign exchange assets kept outside the country, out of which some $7bn with the US Federal Reserve as a mixture of cash, gold, bonds and other instruments, stifling its import prospects.
United Nations agencies warn that one third of the people in Afghanistan is marching towards starvation due to crop failure and the latest political situation. It is high time, the world listened to the cries raising from that country and act immediately to alleviate the pain.
