Islamabad, 14 September 2021 (dpa/MIA) – The Taliban government in Afghanistan on Tuesday thanked the international community for pledging over a billion dollars in humanitarian aid to the suffering population. But while speaking in a press conference in Kabul, the militant group's acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said that such humanitarian aid should not be linked to political issues. Muttaqi said that the Taliban government promises that the aid would reach the "deserving and poor Afghans." A United Nations-hosted international aid conference for Afghanistan in Geneva raised more than 1.2 billion dollars on Monday. The sum includes emergency aid for the suffering population as well as development aid and support for neighbouring countries taking in refugees, UN emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths said. In the press conference, Muttaqi asked the international community to re-engage with the Afghans in various sectors, including education and health. The Taliban on Monday called on the international community to cooperate with them in order to help the people of Afghanistan, as food and medicine were scarce in the war-torn country. The UN estimates that there are already food shortages in 93 per cent of the country's homes. According to UN authorities, basic services in Afghanistan are on the verge of collapse since international troops withdrew from Afghanistan after a 20-year deployment. Humanitarian aid is intended to maintain medical services, water supply, and sanitation facilities.