ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi telephoned Saudi Minister for Communications and Information Technology Abdullah bin Amer Alswaha and agreed to make joint efforts to promote Pakistan-Saudi bilateral digital cooperation.
In a statement on Monday, the Foreign Office said that Foreign Minister Qureshi and Saudi Minister for Communications and Information Technology Alswaha held discussions on promotion of bilateral digital cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
The two ministers agreed to make joint efforts to promote Pakistan-Saudi bilateral digital cooperation. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has called for global measures including interfaith harmony to overcome the challenge of Islamophobia.
Meanwhile, in telephonic conversations separately with his counterparts from Germany and Finland, Foreign Minister Qureshi discussed issues of mutual interests, economic cooperation, the Afghan peace process, and the growing trend of Islamophobia.
Talking to his German counterpart, Heiko Maas, the foreign minister said that Muslims around the world, including Pakistan, were deeply concerned about the growing trend of Islamophobia.
About the Afghan peace process, he said Pakistan continued its sincere efforts for restoration of peace and stability in Afghanistan. He said that Afghan leadership had a unique opportunity in the form of intra-Afghan negotiations, adding that the success of those peace talks was essential for lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan.
He said that Pakistan had always supported Afghan-led, comprehensive dialogue acceptable to all Afghans.
"We also need to keep an eye on the elements who want to destabilise the region," he asserted.
The foreign minister also apprised his German counterpart of the continuing and serious human rights violations by India in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K).
In defiance of international laws, he added that India wanted to change the demography of the IIOJ&K. He urged the international community to play its role to liberate unarmed Kashmiris from Indian oppression.
Qureshi also extended condolence to his German counterpart over the loss of lives in Germany due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He also appreciated the German strategy in containing the spread of the coronavirus and called for global efforts to tackle the challenge of coronavirus pandemic.
The two foreign ministers agreed to continue consultations on the promotion of bilateral trade, economic cooperation and ongoing efforts for peace in the region. In his telephonic conversation with Foreign Minister of Finland Pekka Haavisto, Qureshi exchanged views on security situation of the region and the Afghan peace process, besides holding discussions on issues of mutual interests and cooperation in various fields.
On Afghan peace process, Qureshi said that Pakistan was making sincere efforts for peace in the region including in Afghanistan. He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had been saying since day one that the only solution to the Afghan conflict was negotiations acceptable to all Afghans.
He said that holding of intra-Afghan negotiation in Doha was a welcome development for peace in Afghanistan.
"The Afghan leadership should take advantage of this golden opportunity to bring these talks to a logical conclusion," the foreign minister said.
Qureshi also briefed his counterpart from Finland on the recent visits of Afghan leaders to Pakistan including Abdullah Abdullah, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and the delegation of Afghan Welosi Jirga, and the "positive" discussions held with them.
The foreign minister also welcomed holding of the conference in Geneva later this month, which is jointly organised by Finland, the United Nations, and Afghanistan, calling it an important development for lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan.
The foreign minister thanked the foreign minister of Finland for inviting him to attend the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan. The conference is also expected to discuss a plan of action for the respectable repatriation of Afghan refugees to their homes.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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