ISLAMABAD: As the Taliban are set to announce a future government anytime soon, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Thursday, emphasised the importance of an inclusive set-up to gain people’s confidence and international acceptability.
Speaking at the 6th Think Tank Forum, Qureshi said that an inclusive set-up in Afghanistan would also open new vistas of cooperation at regional and international levels, adding “it will help realise our common objectives of a region, free from scourge of terrorism, strongly linked with the international community through a web of connectivity projects.”
“The Afghan leadership should take the responsibility of delivering on the demands of the Afghan people, reconcile their differences and achieve a negotiated political solution, a long-cherished objective. Inclusive set-up is important for Taliban to gain people’s confidence and international acceptability,” he said.
Given our renewed focus on “geo-economics”, he said that Pakistan feels that the dividends of regional connectivity cannot be realised without enduring peace in Afghanistan.
To achieve the above, it is extremely important for the international community to remain engaged with Afghanistan, he underscored.
“We believe that the biggest opportunity right now is convergence of the international community on the need of durable peace and stability in Afghanistan. A sustained engagement will ensure steady transition and avoid repeat of 1990s. Afghan people must not be abandoned at this crucial stage,” he further emphasised.
He said Pakistan would continue to play the role of a facilitator. “However, our role must not be misconstrued as that of a guarantor,” the foreign minister explained.
Since taking over, Qureshi added that Taliban had made a series of announcements on general amnesty, protection of women’s rights, freedom of speech, employment and access to education and openness to an inclusive political dispensation.
“Taliban are in talks with Afghan leaders on the future political setup. We wish them success. However, the situation, as it stands today, is fragile,” he added.
He said Pakistan considered all segment of Afghan society important in the overall construct of Afghanistan, adding that every Afghan, be it from Tajik community, Uzbek or Turkmen or Pashtun; “they all are part of a beautiful mosaic.”
He said Pakistan reached out to all ethnic communities to reiterate its support to a united and peaceful Afghanistan.
“In the present circumstance, we have continued our support for an inclusive setup in Afghanistan, as the best way forward. We consider Taliban’s announcements positive and encouraging,” he added.
The foreign minister pointed out that Pakistan was the only country that consistently maintained that there was no military solution to the Afghan conflict.
Pakistan, with its firm belief in a negotiated political settlement, supported the US-Taliban direct talks, leading to intra-Afghan negotiations.
He added that Pakistan also continued to voice that the withdrawal of international forces should have proceeded in tandem with progress in the intra-Afghan negotiations, besides supporting a responsible and orderly withdrawal to ensure smooth transition.
“We have suffered the most after Afghanistan, both in terms of casualties and huge loss to the economy. No other country has a greater interest in peace and stability in Afghanistan than Pakistan. Continuation of conflict and instability in Afghanistan is certainly not in our interest,” Qureshi said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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