Afghan Peace: FM underlines challenges, opportunities following COAS’s Kabul visit

Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Tuesday that hopes are high for sustainable peace following the meeting of Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa with Afghan leadership.

According to the details, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was addressing a press conference in Islamabad today.

Afghan Peace Process

Shah Mahmood Qureshi while briefing about the Afghan peace process, said that Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa held high-level meetings with the Afghan leadership in Kabul. 

Hopes are high for sustainable peace in Afghanistan after the meeting,’ said the FM; adding that, ‘We stand by the Afghan people in the peace and stability of Afghanistan.’ 

Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the withdrawal of US troops has begun, and now the greater responsibility lies on Afghans, as they have to play a vital part in making their country peaceful.

‘Pakistan wishes to see a prosperous Afghanistan,’ said the Foreign Minister, ‘Matters between the Afghan government and the Taliban must be resolved through dialogue, Peace in Afghanistan is in the interest of the Taliban and the Afghan government,’ he added.

In addition to this, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Peace in Afghanistan will also benefit Pakistan.

Prime Minister’s Saudi Arabia Visit

While commenting on the visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Saudi Arabia, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the three-day visit was extraordinary. The Prime Minister visited at the invitation of the Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman and soon the positive impacts of Imran Khan’s visit to Saudi Arabia will begin to be seen.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Saudi Arabia needs more manpower for the fulfillment of Vision 2030, and Pakistan will play its key role in achieving Saudi needs.

‘As per Saudi officials 10 million workers will be needed in the future,’ informed Qureshi, ‘Saudi Arabia will create 10 million jobs in the next 10 years,’ added the Foreign Minister. Shah Mahmood Qureshi also said that the Pak-Saudi relations have been good in the past and more cooperation is being promoted.

Israeli Attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi during his press conference also highlighted the Israeli brutalities in Palestine. 

He said that Israeli forces are continuously committing violence at Al-Aqsa Mosque, indiscriminate firing on unarmed worshipers is unfortunate, and the Muslim world needs to be mobilized on the issue of Palestine.

‘The international community must play its part in ending Israel’s violence,’ he appealed, ‘Pakistan’s position on Palestine is unequivocal,’ Shah Mahmood Qureshi added.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Pakistan fully expresses solidarity with the Palestinian people, and Prime Minister Imran Khan also made his position clear to the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

It should be noted that Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday during the meeting with OIC officials, condemned the Israeli attack against Palestinians in Qibla-e- Awaal, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and reiterated his call on the international community to take steps to protect the Palestinians and their legitimate rights.

He said the OIC must also “play its rightful role in addressing the serious situation”, according to the PM Office.

The secretary-general, for his part, shared information about the OIC’s activities in support of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.