US should give Pakistan importance it deserves: Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: The United States should give Pakistan the importance it deserves, believes Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Though the US has sought help from Pakistan to halt the Taliban advance while US troops are pulling out of Afghanistan, US President Joe Biden has not spoken over the issue with Prime Minister Imran Khan so far.

But Qureshi doesn’t think Pakistan should worry over not receiving a phone call. If the US expresses disengagement with Pakistan, it puts them at a disadvantage too, Qureshi said on Geo News programme Geo Pakistan.

He said an impression was being given of tensions in Pakistan-US relations.

The foreign minister was confident that Pakistan and the US want the same things.

“America wants stability in Afghanistan, we want the same. The US is saying there is no military solution to Afghanistan, we are saying the same thing. They are saying a solution should be found through comprehensive talks, we are also saying the same thing,” Qureshi explained.

“Let the Taliban and Afghan rulers sit together and decide their future,” he said, adding that Pakistan is trying its best to persuade the Taliban.

He said that what Pakistan is doing is for its security and survival and for peace and stability.

The FM also spoke over Kashmir, saying that the Indian government uses the Kashmir issue for its domestic politics. “India could not win the hearts of Kashmiris,” he said.