Pakistan, Uzbekistan will lobby to unfreeze Afghan assets: PM Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said Thursday that Pakistan and Uzbekistan would lobby to unfreeze Afghan assets that were frozen by the international community in the aftermath of the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan.

Premier said this while addressing a joint press stakeout at the Prime Minister House alongside Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who arrived in the federal capital earlier in the day on a two-day state visit.

“We have decided, we will try our best that the Afghan funds that have been frozen … we will lobby on this,” he said, gesturing to himself and the Uzbekistan president. He explained that the two countries would also meet with the Afghans to see what conditions are required for recognition from the international community and remarked, “what Afghanistan can do to gain international recognition: we have decided to do this campaign together.

PM Imran emphasised said that connectivity from Pakistan to Uzbekistan via Afghanistan would also benefit the people of the war-torn country, who had witnessed difficult times for the past 40 years.

Prior to the media talk, the two leaders witnessed the signing of different Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements between the two countries. Prime Minister started by welcoming the Uzbek president to Pakistan and thanked him once again for the warm welcome extended to the Pakistani delegation during last year’s visit to Tashkent and Samarkand. He said that Uzbekistan used to enjoy close relations with South Asia for close to 500 years, which had suffered for the last 200 years.