Pakistan ‘deeply concerned’ by continuation of hostilities in Ukraine

People walk down an avenue of Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 12, 2022, as Russian troops intensify a campaign to take the strategic port city. (AFP)

• Hina Rabbani Khar says world must respond to this humanitarian crisis with empathy, generosity
• Islamabad also in process of dispatching another consignment of humanitarian supplies to Ukraine

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has been “deeply concerned” by the continuation of hostilities in Ukraine, a Pakistani state minister has said, as Russian forces continued their push in the east of the country.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar said this while participating virtually in a high-level international donor’s conference for Ukraine held in Warsaw, Poland on May 5.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February. On Saturday, Russia’s defense ministry said it had destroyed an ammunition depot in Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region and shot down two Ukrainian warplanes. 
Ukrainian forces made some advances near Kharkiv and Kherson, inflicting heavy losses, while also suffering losses of their own, a Ukrainian presidential adviser said. The fighting is now threatening to cause a global food crisis.
“Pakistan is deeply concerned by the initiation and continuation of war in Ukraine,” the Pakistani foreign ministry quoted Khar as saying at the donors’ conference on Thursday.
“We are grieved by reports of large civilian casualties, massive outflow of refugees and internal displacement of people in Ukraine and reports of violations of international humanitarian law.”
The international community must respond to this humanitarian crisis with empathy and generosity, the Pakistani state minister urged.
“The Ukraine conflict has far-reaching implications for international security and world economy, with the developing countries hardest hit by the disruption in supply chains and the food and energy crisis,” she said.
Khar said Pakistan continued to call for diplomacy and dialogue for an early, negotiated end to the Ukraine conflict. “Immediate cessation of hostilities is a must to prevent further loss of life and to ease the humanitarian situation,” she added.
The donors conference in Warsaw raised around $6.5 billion for Ukraine, while Khar said Islamabad was in the process of dispatching a second consignment of humanitarian supplies to the Ukrainian people. Pakistan delivered over 15 tons of humanitarian assistance, including food and medicines, to Ukraine in March.