Pressuring Afghanistan won’t help: Muttaqi

Using the option of pressure will not help, Amir Khan Muttaqi, foreign minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), said at a meeting in Kabul with Norway’s charge d’affaires Paul Coleman Bakr.

The foreign minister said that the international community should adopt the policy of engagement and cooperation with Afghanistan.

He said that history shows that pressuring Afghanistan doesn’t help.

Muttaqi also claimed that the IEA has dismantled destructive groups, and they wouldn’t allow anyone to pose a threat to other countries from Afghanistan.

He also said that the cultivation and trafficking of opium has been banned, and tens of thousands of drug addicts have recovered.

IEA took over Afghanistan in August last year, but it has not yet been recognized by any country as the official government.

Norway this week announced an aid package of $22 million for Afghans ahead of what is expected to be a harsh winter.