ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday thanked Pakistan for swiftly evacuating its staff members and their families from Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul earlier this month.
Thousands of diplomats and foreign workers were desperate to fly out of Afghanistan after the Taliban victoriously entered Kabul about 20 years after their government was toppled by the invading American forces.
Among the people who wanted to leave the war-battered country were the staff members of international financial institutions like the IMF and the World Bank who were evacuated by the Pakistani authorities.
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva expressed her gratitude to Prime Minister Imran Khan in a Twitter post on Tuesday, saying his administration had helped her colleagues in “very difficult circumstances.”
“Pakistan’s efforts at the highest levels were absolutely critical to the safe and swift evacuation of IMF staff and their families from Afghanistan,” she acknowledged.
#Pakistan's efforts at the highest levels were absolutely critical to the safe and swift evacuation of IMF staff and their families from #Afghanistan.
My heartfelt thanks to @ImranKhanPTI for Pakistan's exceptional assistance in very difficult circumstances!
— Kristalina Georgieva (@KGeorgieva) August 23, 2021
According to Pakistan’s information minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, the country has evacuated 1,600 people from Kabul, including diplomats, journalists and other foreign nationals, since the fall of Kabul on August 15.
“I especially appreciate the instrumental roles played by Pakistan’s ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance, and Defense, as well as State Bank of Pakistan Governor [Reza] Baqir,” the IMF chief said in a letter addressed to the Pakistani prime minister.
She added that Pakistan’s help amid “immensely difficult and complex circumstances” was absolutely critical to the successful evacuation of IMF employees.
“Thank you very much, from the bottom of my heart. We are grateful for the partnership between Pakistan and the Fund and look forward to continuing our cooperation,” she added.
Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in a statement on Monday his country was fully facilitating several European states, international organizations and media agencies by evacuating their nationals and employees as a responsible member of the world community.
The country’s interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed also announced that Pakistan was issuing one-month visas-on-arrival to all foreigners traveling from Kabul to Islamabad.
