Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s recent remarks about the Afghan government’s responsibility to monitor and control Daesh militants in the country were clarified by the Foreign Office on Monday. “It is regrettable that certain sections of the media have misquoted and twisted the foreign minister’s remarks about the need for peace and stability in Afghanistan through an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process,” said the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri. The foreign minister had “clearly spoken” about the international community, regional players, and Afghans themselves “against the threat of terrorism,” according to Chaudhri. “His remarks cannot in any way be misconstrued as advocacy for a particular side in the Afghan conflict,” he added. “We have repeatedly stated that Pakistan has no favourites in Afghanistan. We see all sides in the conflict as Afghans who need to decide about their future themselves. We will continue to play a constructive facilitation role in the Afghan peace process,” he added. The media misinterpreted FM Qureshi’s statement a few days ago, in which he categorically stated that it was the responsibility of the Afghan government to monitor the presence of Daesh in the country and prevent it from growing. Shah Mehmood Qureshi, speaking at a press conference in Multan’s Raza Hall on Saturday, said Afghan forces had the capability to combat Daesh in Afghanistan. “Nobody wants ISIS to grow. They [the Afghan government] don’t want it, the Taliban don’t want it, Iran doesn’t want it, Afghanistan’s neighbours don’t want it and the international community doesn’t want it,” the foreign minister said. In response to a question about Daesh militants arriving in Afghanistan for terrorism from Iraq, Libya, and Syria, he said it was the Afghan government’s responsibility to monitor the militants and prevent them from growing in Afghanistan. “If they are shifting from Iraq and Syria, whose responsibility should it be to check them? It’s the Afghan government’s!” They’re relocating to the Afghan government’s sovereign territory. Who should be on the lookout for them? Who should be in charge of keeping an eye on them? “It is the responsibility of the Afghan government,” the foreign minister stated. “I hope they will not neglect their responsibility,” he added.