ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has warned that isolating Afghanistan will have serious consequences and will not be helpful for the Afghan people, the region, and the world at large.
While addressing a joint news conference along with his Spanish Counterpart Jose Manuel Albares after delegation-level talks in Islamabad on Friday, Qureshi said that the approach of intimidation, pressure, and coercion has not worked and we got to adopt a new positive approach regarding Afghanistan.
The foreign minister urged the world community to recognize the new reality in Afghanistan and engage with it for peace and stability.
Alluding to the flight from Kabul to Doha, he said that this safe passage is in sync with the demand of the Europeans. He said that we need to encourage the Taliban to stay on course.
The foreign minister regretted that the spoilers did not allow the intra afghan dialogue reach a conclusion. He said that if there had been progress on talks things would have been calmer today.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi however said the world community should immediately focus on averting humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. He expressed satisfaction that a conference is taking place in Geneva to raise funds for the Country.
Qureshi further said that Pakistan is contributing in its own way. He said that one of our aircrafts landed in Afghanistan yesterday with supplies of food and medicines. He added that we will continue to extend humanitarian assistance through air and land routes.
The foreign minister reiterated the call on the international community to take steps to avert economic collapse of Afghanistan. He said that one of the ways is availability of resources and promoting economic activities. He suggested the decision of freezing the Afghan funds will not be helpful and be revisited.
On bilateral relations, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that there are great opportunities for cooperation between the two Countries in different fields. Given the changed security situation in Pakistan, Qureshi urged the Spanish Counterpart to review the travel advisory.
