Pakistan's principled position on the frozen Afghan foreign bank reserves remains that these are owned by the Afghan nation and should be released.

Responding to media questions, Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad in a statement said that utilization of Afghan funds should be the sovereign decision of Afghanistan.

He said Pakistan has seen the U.S. decision to unfreeze the Afghan assets held by the U.S. banks to release 3.5 billion dollars for humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan and 3.5 billion dollars for compensation to families of 9/11 victims. The Spokesperson said over the past several months, Pakistan has been consistently emphasizing the need for the international community to quickly act to address the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan and to help revive the Afghan economy, as the two are inextricably linked.

He said finding ways to unfreeze Afghan foreign reserves urgently would help address the humanitarian and economic needs of the Afghan people. Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said Afghan people are facing grave economic and humanitarian challenges and the international community must continue to play its important and constructive role in alleviating their sufferings.