‘Sanctions On Pakistan Could Have Helped Kabul’
Ottawa, Feb 28: As more countries impose sanctions on Russia, former Canadian diplomat Chris Alexander on Monday said Taliban would not have come to power in Afghanistan if “only a fraction of sanctions” were put on Pakistan.
In a tweet, Alexander said, “If only a fraction of the sanctions now applied against Russia (& Belarus) had been applied to Pakistan, the Taliban would not be in power today.”
The Taliban, which took over the control of Afghanistan on August 15 last year, was welcomed by Pakistan. Since then, the terror situation in Afghanistan has gone on an upward spiral.
On February 24, the United Nations condemned the killing of eight polio vaccination workers in four locations in northern Afghanistan, the first such attacks since nationwide immunization campaigns resumed last November.
Following this incident, the UN immediately suspended the national polio vaccination campaign in Kunduz and Takhar provinces. Last year, nine polio workers were killed during national polio vaccination campaigns. On January 26, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said, “With Afghanistan hanging by a thread six months after the Taliban takeover, the world cannot abandon the country now – for the sake of its people and overall global security.
“At this moment, we need the global community– and this Council – to put their hands on the wheel of progress, provide resources, and prevent Afghanistan from spiraling any further. “We must prevent the expansion of all terrorist organisations in the country. And just as I appeal to the international community to step up support for the people of Afghanistan, I make an equally urgent plea to the Taliban leadership to recognize and protect the fundamental human rights that every person shares.”
