Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said he will visit Kabul on December 15 to take up the matter of “political reconciliation and durable peace” with Afghan leadership in wake of the United States seeking Pakistan’s cooperation for peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Addressing a ceremony in Multan, Qureshi said it was the robustness of Pakistan’s foreign policy that the US requested for assistance in Afghan issue, media reported. He said Pakistan was committed to an “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process”.
The minister was of the view that Pakistan’s foreign policy was moving on a positive trajectory based on national interest and self-reliance.
On Tuesday, Qureshi had reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for the Afghan peace process in his meeting with US Special Envoy for Afghan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad — the United States special envoy tasked with finding a negotiated end to Afghanistan’s 17-year old war.
“Pakistan will continue to cooperate with sincerity for a political settlement in Afghanistan. Long-lasting peace in Afghanistan is in Pakistan’s best interest,” Qureshi had tweeted after his meeting with the visiting US special envoy.
The Prime Minister Imran Khan, in an interview with media, expressed his desire to have “a proper relationship with the US” akin to Islamabad’s ties with China rather than the one “where Pakistan is treated like a hired gun”.
Furthermore, Qureshi said the prime minister has expressed satisfaction over the performance of Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the first hundred days of the PTI government.
