Jan 15, 2022: According to a report in the Express Tribune, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday responded to the Pakistani government’s proposal to send capable and trained manpower to Afghanistan, saying “there is no need for it”.

On Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Pakistan was “committed to providing all possible assistance to the Afghan people to avert a humanitarian crisis.” Presiding over the third meeting of the Apex Committee on Afghanistan, the Prime Minister directed the concerned authorities to seek bilateral cooperation with friendly countries so that a capable and trained workforce, especially medical, IT, finance and accounting fields.

PM Imran Khan also directed for enhanced cooperation in the fields of railways, minerals, pharmaceuticals and media to assist in the rehabilitation and development of Afghanistan.

“Afghanistan does not need foreign manpower,” Karzai wrote on his official Twitter handle. “Hamid Karzai has welcomed Prime Minister Imran Khan’s proposal to send foreign manpower, especially Pakistani manpower, to Afghanistan, but there is no need for such manpower.”

The former president also called on the Taliban’s caretaker government in Kabul to create jobs, saying that providing jobs for young people would also facilitate the return of Afghan refugees and professionals currently living in exile.

On Friday, Pakistan’s Apex Committee for Afghanistan renewed its appeal to the international community and aid agencies to provide assistance at this critical juncture to avert economic catastrophe and save precious lives in Afghanistan. The committee reiterated its concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and vowed that Pakistan would not spare Afghans in times of need.

On Thursday, the Taliban said it had approved its first budget for Afghanistan since the group came to power in August, with no mention of foreign aid.

International aid represented 40 percent of Afghanistan’s GDP and 80 percent of its budget when it was controlled by a former US-backed government.

When it collapsed in August and the Taliban took over, Western powers froze billions of dollars in aid and assets, which the United Nations called an “unprecedented financial blow.”

“For the first time in two decades, we have developed a budget that is not dependent on foreign aid, and this is a great achievement for us,” said Ahmad Wali Haqmal, a spokesman for the Taliban’s finance ministry.

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