PM Khan tells Ukrainian president 'non-partisan' states can act as peacemakers

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Tuesday Pakistan and other “non-partisan” countries were in a position to act as peacemakers and help efforts to bring the war in Ukraine to an end.
Khan was in Moscow when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his armed forces to invade the neighboring Eastern European country.
Pakistan faced mounting international pressure to condemn the conflict in Ukraine that was widely viewed as a war of aggression, though its foreign minister and other officials said their country was going to retain a “neutral” stance.
Khan issued his latest statement after receiving a phone call from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“The Prime Minister underlined that non-partisan countries like Pakistan were in a position to play a helpful role in reinforcing efforts for cessation of hostilities and a diplomatic solution,” said an official statement circulated in Islamabad after the phone call.
He highlighted the adverse economic impact of the conflict on developing countries, adding it could be seen in rising prices of oil and other commodities.
“Prime Minister Imran Khan emphasized the importance of humanitarian relief for the civilians and underlined that Pakistan has dispatched two C-130 airplanes with humanitarian relief assistance for people in Ukraine,” the statement added.
He also recalled the recent meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), saying that all Muslim countries had expressed deep concern over the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation arising from the conflict in Ukraine.
The prime minister also expressed appreciation for the Ukrainian authorities for helping with the evacuation of Pakistani students and nationals as well as embassy staff.
He applauded efforts made by other countries to facilitate diplomatic solution.
The war in Ukraine has triggered a refugee crisis in the region.
According to some estimates, about 3.9 million people have left Ukraine while nearly 6.5 million have been internally displaced since the beginning of the war.