‘Can’t pass buck to Pakistan’, says Qureshi on Afghan endgame

By News Desk

ISLAMABAD: As foreign troops continue their draw down from Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday peace in the war-torn country “is a shared responsibility” as he stressed “you cannot pass the buck towards Pakistan”.

The foreign minister, talking to TRT World during his visit to Antalya, Turkey, said Pakistan had been engaged constructively for peace and stability in Afghanistan and would continue to do so.

“But this is a shared responsibility. You cannot pass the buck towards Pakistan. Pakistan is one regional player. There are other global players and there are other interests that are paramount in the region,” the foreign minister said. “So, it has to be a holistic approach and Pakistan will be a partner in peace.”

He said Pakistan was keen to see both the Afghan peace process and the withdrawal of foreign troops advancing “in tandem” but in fact there was a disconnect between the two. “What I am seeing is that the withdrawal is taking place at a fairly rapid pace but peace process is moving ahead at snail pace. And that is a bit disconnect over there. And that is of concern to me,” the foreign minister said.

He said he was concerned over the rising level of violence in Afghanistan and which was not just linked to Taliban but Daesh and other spoilers within Afghanistan which were perhaps not keen to see peace and stability there. “They have their own designs and motives. This is a complicated situation. There are internal struggles going on within Afghanistan,” Qureshi said. He said other conflicts like the Jammu and Kashmir dispute were also impeding economic progress and integration in the region.

He said the world was increasingly embroiled in “great competition and confrontation” and people were “being forced to take sides”.

Qureshi said Pakistan had been facilitating the peace process and engaging with all regional powers at every forum including Doha process, Istanbul process, Heart of Asia and Moscow format.

He said the Covid-19 pandemic was still lingering and would obviously leave behind its economic and financial implications which also necessitated preparedness.