E-Paper
Will continue efforts to strengthen ties with Taliban-ruled Afghanistan: Pakistan
Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said his country will continue with its efforts to facilitate economic assistance to Afghanistan amid the difficult situation faced by the Afghans.
Taliban leaders have reportedly received an assurance of strengthened bilateral ties with Pakistan from its foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi during their first official visit to the neighbouring country following the takeover of Afghanistan.
Qureshi told his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi that Pakistan will continue its efforts in aiding Afghanistan resolve its humanitarian crisis, according to a report by news agency ANI that cited Turkey-based Anadolu Agency.
A statement issued by the Pakistan foreign ministry said Qureshi also promised of the country’s continued efforts in facilitating economic support to Afghanistan amid the current crisis.
“Foreign minister Qureshi reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolve to strengthen bilateral relations with Afghanistan in all areas (and) emphasised that peace in Afghanistan would help strengthen regional stability and spur economic activity and connectivity,” the statement read.
A 20-member Taliban delegation, headed by Muttaqi, landed in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on Wednesday. They also met officials from China, Russia and the United States as part of the Troika Plus meeting that Pakistan hosted in Islamabad on Thursday
Also Read | China to join Pakistan’s ‘Troika Plus’ meeting on Afghanistan
Afghan’s acting finance minister Hidayatullah Badri, industries and trade minister Nooruddin Aziz and senior officials belonging to the Taliban regime’s aviation ministry are part of the delegation.
The visit of the Taliban ministers came days after Qureshi’s visit to Kabul on October 21 and happened around the same time when India hosted Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan.
The Delhi meeting, chaired by national security officer Ajit Doval, was graced by security council secretaries of seven nations, including Iran, Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.
Closer coordination and efforts to tackle the fear of terrorism in the country were among several important decisions that constituted the Delhi consensus statement by the participating nations on Afghanistan.
China, which participated in the Troika Plus meeting, had pulled out from the India-hosted Delhi declaration, citing “inconvenience” due to “scheduling reasons”.
