Peace in Afghanistan is shared responsibility of int'l community: Pak FM

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday said his country was being made a scapegoat for the international community's failure to bring peace in Afghanistan, days after Islamabad was accused of providing safe haven and logistical support to the Taliban.

At a press conference here, Qureshi said: "Peace in the neighbouring country (Afghanistan) is a shared responsibility, and the international community cannot shy away from it. We won't let some harsh statements block our desire to attain peace and stability."

The minister was referring to recent statements of Afghanistan's UN envoy that Pakistan was aiding the Taliban by providing logistical support and safe haven.

The powerful 15-nation UN Security Council, currently under India's Presidency for the month of August, held a meeting on the situation in Afghanistan on Friday last week. Pakistan was not invited to the meeting.

Qureshi said Pakistan itself was a victim of terrorism. "We have paid a huge price... we're the victims... this has to be understood... we have 80,000 casualties and we suffered economic losses," he said.

He said Pakistan has been pushing for peace in Afghanistan without showing preference for any group or party. "We have been saying time and again that Pakistan has no 'favourites' in Afghanistan, he said.

The minister said Pakistan was against any military takeover in Afghanistan, adding that his country's role in the conflict is only of a facilitator, and not of a guarantor.

"Pakistan played an instrumental role in bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table in 2019. Pakistan facilitated the US-Taliban peace agreement in February 2020 in Doha. Pakistan also helped to convene the intra-Afghan negotiations in September 2020, he said.

He rejected allegations by the Afghan leaders about any interference and added that the people of Afghanistan should decide the future of their country.

"If peace talks succeed then it would not be Pakistan who would get the credit but the Afghan leadership, he said.

He said Pakistan had invited the Afghan leaders to a conference in Islamabad to discuss the way forward but was postponed on the request of President Ashraf Ghani.

It may be mentioned that Pakistan did not invite the Taliban to this conference, he said.

Qureshi reiterated that there was no military solution to the Afghan crisis and only a negotiated political settlement was the way forward.

He said that Pakistan had asked the United States not to abandon Afghanistan because it would create a power vacuum.

Talking about the UNSC session on Afghanistan under Indian presidency, Qureshi said Pakistan was not invited despite making a formal request.

On recent terrorist attacks, he said, the blasts were attempts to disrupt the progress made in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). "They have their own priorities and we have our own... despite their efforts, we will continue to progress," he said.

At least two policemen were killed and 12 others, including eight policemen, were injured on Sunday when a powerful blast targeted a police van near a luxury hotel in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's troubled southwestern Balochistan province. Similar, terror incidents have been reported widely across the country in recent months.

Later, Qureshi said 98 per cent fencing of the border with Afghanistan had been completed.