ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has asserted that Pakistan was working on an inclusive interim arrangement in Afghanistan that was acceptable to all stakeholders.
“Pakistan’s role in the push to create an inclusive political arrangement in Afghanistan is being recognised all over the world,” the foreign minister said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad today (Monday) a day before the crucial visit to regional countries.
The minister said that Pakistan, with the help of some regional players, was facilitating an arrangement in Afghanistan that would have “broad-based representation and wider acceptability”.
He highlighted that very few embassies were still operating in Kabul. “If I am not wrong, only five embassies are still functioning and one of them is Pakistan,” he added.
He said that Pakistan has established a cell in Islamabad and the country was providing visa arrival facility to the people coming from Afghanistan. “Since August 16, five PIA flights have operated between Kabul and Islamabad, evacuating hundreds of people,” he added.
The foreign minister said that nationals of 28 countries have benefitted from the facilities provided by Pakistan. “We have facilitated 3,234 officials of different international organisations,” he said and added that 293 officials of World Bank were also evacuated from Kabul.
He said that as a responsible country and partner in peace, Pakistan will continue to provide assistance in the evacuation process. “I have shared Pakistan’s intentions with many foreign ministers and they are in sync with us,” he added.
To a question, FM Qureshi said that the foreign ministers he had engaged with wanted Pakistan to help in the evacuation process. “See, Afghanistan is a country with number of ethnic groups. The wider the arrangement the wider the acceptability,” he added.
Talking about his objective for the visit, he said that Pakistan wanted to hear about the assessment of these countries on the issue and discuss the immediate challenges the neighbouring countries of Afghanistan were facing.
Qureshi said that the opportunities in Afghanistan for the neighbouring countries would also come into the discussion. “It is important to consult with them as immediate neighbours of Afghanistan have an important role to play,” he added.
Qureshi is scheduled to visit Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Iran in a bid to find lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan following Taliban’s lightning capture of capital Kabul last week.
After quickly overrunning smaller administrative districts and provincial hubs, the Taliban fighters entered the Afghan capital Kabul on August 15 and seized power, taking control of the country for the first time in almost 20 years.
