FM Qureshi, US deputy secretary of state discuss Afghanistan’s future

ISLAMABAD: United States Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R Sherman and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi met on Friday to discuss “Afghanistan’s future”.

In a Tweet, Sherman wrote: “I met today with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to discuss Afghanistan’s future and the important and long-standing U.S.-Pakistan relationship.”

“We look forward to continuing to address pressing regional and global challenges,” the visiting dignitary added.

I met today with Pakistani Foreign Minister @SMQureshiPTI to discuss Afghanistan’s future and the important and long-standing U.S.-Pakistan relationship. We look forward to continuing to address pressing regional and global challenges. pic.twitter.com/1tmUAMC18I

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— Wendy R. Sherman (@DeputySecState) October 8, 2021

Earlier, National Security Adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf told the United States Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in a meeting that the international community must engage with the new Taliban-led government in Afghanistan.

Sherman, after CIA chief William Burns, is one of the first high-level officials under President Joe Biden to visit Pakistan.

During the Islamabad meeting, the two sides discussed the evolving situation in the region after the Taliban takeover.

Both Pakistan and the US expressed the desire to promote their bilateral relations. Yusuf and Sherman also exchanged views on economic cooperation and trade in the war-torn country.

The US lauded Pakistan’s efforts for the evacuation of foreigners from Afghanistan and the help it has extended to the Afghan refugees.

Yusuf also reiterated Pakistan’s stance that “the world must maintain contact with the interim government in Afghanistan.”

He apprised Sherman about Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir, and said, “Indian blatant human rights violations in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) also pose threat to regional peace.”

According to the US State Department, Sherman, who reached Pakistan yesterday (October 7) before visiting India, will meet more senior officials in Islamabad today.

During her stay in India, Sherman held talks with Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.