Pakistan supports stable peaceful Afghanistan: FM

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Saturday said that Pakistan was committed to a peaceful and stable Afghanistan in accordance with the wishes of Afghan people.

Reiterating Pakistan’s all out support to Afghan peace and reconciliation process, he said they all wanted peace and stability in Afghanistan.

He was addressing a press conference along with his Afghan and Chinese counterparts, Salahuddin Rabbani and Wang Yi in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Qureshi is in Kabul to attend the second Afghanistan-China-Pakistan foreign ministers dialogue.

The Minister also underscored the need to remove trust deficit between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He further said Pakistan would continue supporting the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned dialogue process.

Pakistan would benefit the most from the peace and stability in Afghanistan, he added.

Qureshi said Pakistan had been a victim of terrorism and had given huge sacrifices in the fight against terrorism.

He said Pakistan had a very firm stance on terrorism and condemned it in all its forms and manifestations.

He stressed upon further promotion of ties among the three countries and underlined the need for a joint strategy to eradicate the menace of terrorism from the region.

Afghan foreign minister Rabbani stressed upon collective efforts to tackle terrorism in the region and linked the peace and stability in Afghanistan with the development and prosperity of the region.

The objective of the meeting was to further strengthen the ties and promote cooperation in different spheres; he said and extended his country’s support to Chinese belt and road project.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in his address said, Afghanistan and Pakistan were the two brotherly countries and extended China’s complete support to Afghanistan peace and reconciliation process.

He stressed upon bringing Taliban on the negotiation table to further the peace process in Afghanistan.

He said China and Pakistan were strategic cooperative partners.

China would also assist in establishing connectivity projects including a rail link between Peshawar-Kabul and Kandahar, he announced.