MULTAN: On Sunday, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Pakistan was willing to start peace talks with India but India was not even issuing visas to pilgrims to attend religious functions in Pakistan while Islamabad, on the other hand, was relaxing its visa policy for Indians. The foreign minister said this during the concluding session of the 708th annual Urs of Hazrat Shah Rukn-e-Alam. Qureshi further asserted that thousands of pilgrims from Rajasthan could not participate in Shah Rukn-e-Alam’s Urs this year as India did not issue them visas. While referring to the external forces, the foreign minister said that these outside forces wanted to destabilize Pakistan, adding that they did not want “Pakistan to prosper.” “We have to block the path of such forces. The nation must unite against them,” he stressed. The foreign minister said it was important to stay united, adding that the rising trend of extremism in society was dangerous and poisonous. He maintained that Pakistan’s geostrategic position is very crucial in the region. The foreign minister lamented that Muslims in occupied Kashmir and Palestine were braving atrocities, adding that the people of Afghanistan were also facing a humanitarian crisis. Peace in Afghanistan is Pakistan’s desire and priority, he noted, adding that Pakistan’s stability and prosperity depend on sustainable peace in Afghanistan. Qureshi said foreign ministers of Islamic countries had been invited to Islamabad on Dec 19 to discuss issues facing Afghanistan. They are coming together for prosperity and lasting peace in the country, he said, adding that Pakistan is making sincere efforts for the establishment of peace in Afghanistan. FM Qureshi also spoke about the rising inflation in the country, saying that the coronavirus pandemic had destroyed Pakistan’s economy as it had done to economies around the world.