A Delegation from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Position Paper on Afghanistan issue

The topic before the Assembly is, "the fall of Afghan Government and its impact upon the
Citizen of Afghanistan and the rest of the world". The Islamic Republic of Pakistan recognizes
the need for internal stability and peace in the country of Afghanistan for the region to be
stable and economically prosperous, thus it is important to address this issue and search for a
viable solution.

For the past 4 decades, Afghanistan has been in a constant state of war. It started with the
invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union on December 24, 1979, and was further prolonged
by the events of 9/11; which led to the coalition invasion of Afghanistan led by the United
States on 7 October 2001. The US-led war on terror, continued for 2 decades, resulting in
countless deaths and injuries, where about 241,000 people have been killed since 2001. More
than 71,000 of these were civilians including children and women. After 2 decades in 2021,
august 16, the Taliban captured the capital and toppled the Afghan government. The fall of
Kabul left the war ridden country in dire need of humanitarian help from the international
community.

Peace in Afghanistan is very much important for Pakistan, as an unraveling Afghanistan could
embolden Pakistani militant groups, particularly the Pakistani Taliban, and threaten yet another
massive influx of Afghan refugees. Pakistan has played a vital role in the Afghan peace process
in the past by constantly persuading the Taliban to come to the negotiation table and advocate
solutions other than war. Pakistan wants to help the people of Afghanistan in these harsh times
and requests the Taliban to abide by the rules of the United Nations and Human rights.

For the current situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan has been blamed for the turn of events, by
politicians in the United States, Europe, and India. We want to tell them that, the country that
suffered the most, apart from Afghanistan, was Pakistan when we joined the US War on Terror
after 9/11. Around 80,000 Pakistanis died. $150 billion dollars were lost to our economy and
there were 3.5 million internally displaced.

In the 1980s, Pakistan was a front-line state in fighting against the occupation of Afghanistan.
Pakistan and the United States trained Mujahedeen groups to fight for the liberation of
Afghanistan. Amongst those Mujahedeen groups was AL Qaeda and other various groups from
all over the world. Afghan Mujahedeen were considered heroes. And after 1989, the Soviet war
ended, and the Americans left - abandoning Afghanistan. Pakistan was left with 5 million Afghan
refugees. We were left with sectarian militant groups which never existed before. In 2002 after
9/11, Pakistan again helped the United States in the Afghan invasion by providing logistical
support. The same Mujahedeen that we had trained, that fighting foreign occupation was a
sacred duty, a holy war or jihad, turned against us. Unrest in the northwestern part started,
which resulted in military operations. Between 2004 and 2014, there were 50 different militant
groups attacking the State of Pakistan.
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Pakistan had sacrificed much in bringing peace to Afghanistan and we still want to help them in
bringing stability to the country, so that other countries could not use it to destabilize Pakistan.
War was not the solution to the Afghanistan issue, it can be easily understood by the return of
the Taliban in 2006 that military action is not a solution. A political solution was the only way
forward.

In the quest of bringing peace to the region, Pakistan invited the neighboring countries of
Afghanistan to discuss the issues in the war-torn country. Pakistan China, Iran, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan held the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on 8 th September, 2021. In
this meeting, the members declared the following;

1. Expressed support for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of

Afghanistan, and non-interference in its internal affairs, and noted that the future of
Afghanistan should be determined by its people, in accordance with the provisions of
the UN Charter.
2. Expressed solidarity with the people of Afghanistan and reiterated the support of the
neighboring countries to help bring peace, security, national reconciliation, stability, and
development to Afghanistan.
3. Stressed the necessity of forming an open, inclusive governmental structure; which
practices moderate and sound internal and external policies; adopt friendly policies
towards neighbors of Afghanistan; achieve the shared goals of durable peace, security,
safety, and long-term prosperity; and respects the fundamental human rights including
those of ethnic groups, women and children.
4. Cautioned against the possibility of incitement and role of spoilers, both inside and
outside the country, to derail efforts towards an all-inclusive political settlement in
Afghanistan.
5. Affirmed the importance of sustained international engagement on Afghanistan,
especially in supporting its humanitarian and development needs.
6. Condemned the cowardly and gruesome terrorist attacks on Kabul airport and other
places of ethnic and religious groups.
7. Emphasized that Afghanistan’s territory should not be allowed to pose a threat to other
countries.
8. Reiterated that terrorist organizations, such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda, ETIM, TTP, BLA, and
others should not be allowed to maintain a foothold on Afghanistan’s territory.
9. Expressed readiness to keep ports open for Afghanistan and ensure the smooth cross
border flow of goods to facilitate Afghanistan’s access to external support, in particular
the transport of humanitarian supplies, as well as to help Afghanistan strengthen
economic and trade connectivity with the regional countries.
10. Committed to continue providing medical supplies as well as technical and other
assistance to the people of Afghanistan’s efforts to fight COVID-19.
11. Pointed out that the continued increase of narcotic drugs production over the past 20
years in Afghanistan has caused serious harm to the people of Afghanistan and the
international community, and stressed the need to stop narcotic drugs production in

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 Afghanistan.
12. Called for allowing unhindered access and protection to United Nations entities and
other international humanitarian organizations to provide necessary aid and assistance
to the people in need in Afghanistan.
13. Urged the international community to provide adequate, predictable, regular and
sustainable financial support in line with the principle of international responsibility and
burden sharing for the Afghan refugees including for their timely repatriation.
14. Noted the fundamental importance of major international energy, transport,
communications, infrastructure and other projects implemented by neighboring
countries for socio-economic development of Afghanistan, its active integration into the
world economy, ensuring the well-being of the people of Afghanistan, and called on
international organizations and financial institutions to provide the necessary support
for their practical implementation.
15. Agreed to remain seized of the developments in Afghanistan and coordinate with each
other for a holistic, comprehensive and harmonized response.
16. Agreed to continue meetings of Foreign Ministers of countries neighboring Afghanistan
on a rotating basis, holding their next meeting in Tehran, and to set up a mechanism of
regular consultations of Special Envoys (Special Representatives) for Afghanistan affairs,
as well as the regular meetings of representatives of Embassies in Kabul to discuss and
coordinate their joint efforts.

Now the whole international community should think on how to proceed. There are two paths
that we can take. If we neglect Afghanistan right now, according to the UN, half the people of
Afghanistan are already vulnerable, and by next year almost 90% of the people in Afghanistan
will go below the poverty line. There is a huge humanitarian crisis looming ahead and this will
have serious repercussions not just for the neighbors of Afghanistan but everywhere. A
destabilized, chaotic Afghanistan will again become a safe haven for international terrorists - the
reason why the US came to Afghanistan in the first place. Therefore, there is only one way to
go. We must strengthen and stabilize the current government, for the sake of the people of
Afghanistan.

The new Government of Taliban has promised that;

· They will respect human rights.

· They will have an inclusive government.
· They will not allow their soil to be used by terrorists.
· They have given amnesty.

If the world community incentivizes them and encourages them to fulfill their promises, it will
be a win-win situation for everyone. Because these are the four conditions that the US-Taliban
dialogue in Doha was all about. If the world can incentivize them to go in this direction, then
this twenty-year presence of the coalition forces in Afghanistan would not be wasted after all.
Because the Afghan soil would not be used by the international terrorists. We are urging all the
member states that this is a critical time for Afghanistan. Help is needed there. Humanitarian

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assistance has to be given there immediately.