Pakistan FM Shah Mahmood Qureshi leaves for Turkey from Iran

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has left for Turkey from Iran on a two day official visit.

According to the details, during his stay, Shah Mahmood Qureshi will participate in a trilateral meeting to be attended by the Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Afghanistan.

In the meeting, the three Foreign Ministers will discuss the latest developments in the Afghan peace process.

Moreover, the Foreign Minister will also hold bilateral talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu. In addition to this, the two Foreign Ministers will review the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and discuss preparations for the 7th Session of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, which will be held in Turkey this year.

Turkey’s foreign ministry said Friday’s three-way meeting would cover “recent developments regarding the Afghan peace process, cooperation in the fields of security, energy, connectivity and irregular migration.”

Shah Mahmood Qureshi earlier urged the Taliban to remain engaged in the Afghan peace process after the armed group said it would now shun summits about Afghanistan until all foreign forces leave.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Pakistan will do whatever it can to convince them [Taliban] that it is in their national interest to remain engaged.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi said withdrawal delays were always a possibility due to logistics but that the Taliban had largely succeeded in their objective for foreign troops to withdraw and so should show flexibility towards the new Sept. 11 deadline.