Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday said Pakistan wanted to adopt a joint strategy on Afghanistan after consultation with important countries of the region.

“As Pakistan is fulfilling its responsibilities, the improved situation in Afghanistan will benefit all. If, God forbids, the situation in Afghanistan deteriorates, all will be affected,” Qureshi said in a statement from Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan.

The foreign minister said since he was in Tajikistan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers’ meeting, he wanted to utilize the opportunity to discuss the situation in Afghanistan with important countries of the region, which were also monitoring the situation.

He said after a detailed discussion already held with his Tajik counterpart on the situation in Afghanistan on Monday, he held meetings with foreign ministers of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Afghanistan today. He was also expected to meet the foreign ministers of China and Russia, he added.

The foreign minister said India by playing the role of a spoiler in Afghanistan was disturbing regional peace.

He said India should let Afghanistan live with peace and urged the international community to prohibit it from the negative attitude.

Qureshi said as the neighbouring countries would be affected by the Afghanistan situation; it was a golden opportunity to take consultative process forward.

He said Pakistan was the only country, which, despite its limited resources, was hosting three million Afghan refugees for decades; however, it could not afford to welcome more refugees if the situation in Afghanistan deteriorated again.

The minister said Pakistan, by sacrificing 70,000 lives and suffering huge economic losses, had paid a heavy price in the war against terrorism.

He said since under the guise of Afghan refugees, some anti-Pakistan elements could enter the country and it was their obligation to remain cautious.

Qureshi said he considered most of the Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan as innocent and wanted to return to their country.

Pakistan, he said, wanted to help the Afghan people on humanitarian grounds, but also wanted to ensure the safety and security of its own people. It also desired sustainable peace and stability in Afghanistan.

He urged the Afghans not to repeat the mistakes of the past and find a way by sitting together. “We invite the important Afghan personalities for dialogue. Afghan leaders should sit and tell how we can help them,” he added.