Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar says constructive engagement of international community is the only way forward to address the looming humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

In an exclusive interview with Radio Pakistan's News and Current Affairs Channel, he urged the world powers not to abandon Afghanistan in this critical situation.

The Spokesperson said peace and stability in Afghanistan was in Pakistan’s best interest, and Pakistan always wanted a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.

He said instability in Afghanistan for more than four decades had devastating effects on Pakistan. We had all along emphasized that there was no military solution to the Afghanistan problem.

Asim Iftikhar said being the immediate neighbor and concerned about the consequences of instability in Afghanistan, after the developments of 15th August, Pakistan had to play a crucial role and we did that in a constructive manner.

He said the international community was sensitized and mobilized to stay engaged with Afghanistan in particular to deal with the imminent humanitarian situation. We organized the special ministerial session of the OIC on Afghanistan that provided a viable platform to bring together the Islamic countries, and other partners and international stakeholders to focus and deliberate on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

Speaking on Kashmir issue, the Spokesperson said since the illegal and unilateral actions that India took on 5th August 2019, there was a sharp increase in human rights violations in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

There were over 900,000 Indian troops in IIOJK, and the main objective of all such illegal steps was to bring about demographic changes to convert the Muslim majority of Kashmir into a minority.

The Spokesperson said all these measures are against UN Security Council resolutions, international law and the 4th Geneva Convention and Pakistan has been precisely highlighting it at every international forum.

He said due to our continuing efforts, UN Security Council has held three meetings to discuss the Kashmir dispute since 5th August 2019.

Asim Iftikhar said we have been closely in touch with the UN Secretary General who has reaffirmed that UN position on the Jammu and Kashmir issue was guided by the UN Charter and the relevant resolutions of the Security Council.

The UN Secretary General has expressed concerns over human rights violations in IIOJK and urged the parties to refrain from taking any steps that could affect the status of Jammu and Kashmir.

He said it is primary responsibility of the UN Security Council and its permanent members to push for a resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with UNSC’s own Resolutions.

Asim Iftikhar said belligerent policies of BJP-led Indian regime, inspired by the RSS ideology that was motivated by Nazism, are a threat to Muslim and other minorities in India. International community has been watching this and international mainstream media is focused on this and they have written and reported a lot on it while the situation on ground was turning from bad to worse.

Asim Iftikhar noted that Hindutva ideology used by BJP-RSS as a tool in electoral politics to win votes was a dangerous trend especially for the minorities in India.

He said the upcoming Ministerial Session of OIC to be held next month in Pakistan is of great significance that would focus on key priorities of the Islamic world. Apart from other political and economic issues, Kashmir and Palestine will be deliberated. The OIC meeting will coincide with 75th anniversary celebrations of Pakistan’s independence.

Talking about Pakistan-China relations, the Spokesperson said friendship between the two countries is based on the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership and we are committed to take it to new heights.