Daily Times

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar is attending a two-day meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan being held in Doha, Qatar. The meeting is being held under the auspices of the United Nations, said a press release issued by the ministry of foreign affairs on Monday. Besides attending the meeting, the minister of state would also hold bilateral meetings with leaders of other participating countries.

Chaired by the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, the meeting brings together major international and regional countries to discuss the ongoing situation in Afghanistan with a view towards constructive engagement. The minister of state for foreign affairs would present Pakistan’s perspective vis-à-vis Afghanistan and work on building a consensus regarding the way forward with international and regional partners.

Pakistan would continue to support all efforts to advance the shared objectives of a peaceful, stable, sovereign, prosperous and connected Afghanistan.

In November last year, Khar led a delegation to Kabul for a one-day visit where she met with acting Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. It was not clear whether security was discussed at the meeting. “A range of bilateral issues of common interest including cooperation in education, health, trade and investment, regional connectivity, people-to-people contacts and socioeconomic projects were discussed,” the Foreign Office had said in a statement. Prior to the upcoming Doha talks, the United Nations and the United States have insisted that recognition of the Taliban government is not on the agenda.