'Pakistan supports an Afghanistan that is at peace with itself,' FM Qureshi

[shaaik]

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday said that Pakistan is resolute towards finding a peaceful solution to the Afghan conflict as "Pakistan supports an Afghanistan that is at peace with itself". The comments were made while addressing the inaugural session of a conference on Afghan peace titled Lahore Process held at Bhurban.

The Lahore Process has been set up to discuss different aspects of the Afghan peace process, which include bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan through connectivity, trade, economy and health.

The moot will discuss the issue of repatriation of Afghan refugees who have been living in Pakistan for the last four decades and delegates are expected to give proposals on the future course of action for Afghanistan.

Pakistan supports an Afghanistan at peace with itself'
"Pakistan’s perspective on Afghanistan is clear, we support an Afghanistan that is at peace with itself, and at peace with its neighbours," Qureshi said in his welcome speech.

"We respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our neighbour and remain firmly committed to a peaceful, stable, united, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan. We are determined to build our bilateral relationship on the principles of non-interference, mutual respect and common interest."

'Pakistan has also suffered because of the Afghan conflict'
Speaking on how Pakistan has been affected by the conflict, Qureshi said: "The decades-long conflict has brought great suffering to the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan. After the Afghan nation, no one has suffered more than the people of Pakistan due to this persistent instability and conflict.

"Pakistan’s security continues to be deeply influenced by the security situation in Afghanistan. Advancing the cause of peace and stability in Afghanistan is, therefore, in Pakistan’s own national interest.

"Let this be absolutely clear: No one in Pakistan subscribes to any notion of so-called ‘strategic depth’ in Afghanistan. We must not let anyone resurrect this dead horse to advance their propagandistic aims or seek to sow the seeds of misunderstanding between us and our Afghan brethren. We wish to see a friendly Afghanistan, governed by an elected leadership, representative of the aspirations of all Afghans.

'The cycle of mistrust must end'
Speaking about the previously prevailing mistrust between the two countries, the foreign minister said: "For far too long, the vicious circle of mistrust, often fed into by our common enemies, has affected our relationship. The blame-game has not helped either of us. It is indispensable to move away from this negative paradigm.

"It is incumbent upon the leadership of the two countries to take practical steps to build mutual trust and confidence. We must not allow our respective territories to be used by anyone to the detriment of our interests.

"We must also remain vigilant of the other forces that wish to create misunderstandings and divisions between us. We must not allow them to harm our brotherly relations. We both have the same objective of long-term peace and prosperity in Afghanistan and the region. If there is, at times, variance in approaches, it must not be construed as difference in objectives."

'Pakistan always believed the solution to the Afghan conflict is not militarised, the world agrees with us now'
Discussing Pakistan's commitment to the Afghan peace process, Qureshi said: "While others believed in a military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan, we always thought that a politically negotiated settlement was the only way forward. It is gratifying to note that others have also reached the same conclusion now.

"Pakistan has whole-heartedly facilitated the Afghan peace process in good faith and as a shared responsibility and will continue playing its due role. Our support has been crucial in overcoming the political stalemate that looked impossible to break just a year ago.

"Prime Minister Imran Khan has for long been personally committed to peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan.My first visit after assuming office again in August 2018 was to Kabul. I have since visited Kabul three times. I also visited other regional countries including China, Russia, Iran, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE in an effort to build regional consensus on the ongoing peace process."

'We believe the ultimate arbiters of future of Afghanistan are the Afghans themselves'
Reiterating the fact that it is only the Afghans that can effectively lead the peace process in their own country Qureshi said: "While efforts of all stakeholders are important, we do believe that the ultimate arbiters of the future of Afghanistan are only the Afghans themselves. We appreciate the progress achieved by Afghanistan over the past 18 years despite enormous challenges.

"It is critically important to preserve those gains and in fact, build on these achievements. Strengthening of democratic institutions in Afghanistan and progress on human rights, particularly women empowerment, are praise-worthy.

"Pakistan will continue to deepen its engagement with all sections of the Afghan society and their representatives in further cementing these achievements, as per expectations of the people of Afghanistan. In addition to playing our role in the peace process, Pakistan also remains committed to the Afghan reconstruction and development efforts, post-settlement.

"We stand ready to help Afghanistan through trade, investment, connectivity and capacity-building of the Afghan people. We are committed to enhancing people-to-people contacts and cultural exchanges. We also wish to work with Afghanistan, and the world community, to help create conditions that enable dignified, safe and voluntary return of Afghan refugees to Afghanistan."

'Afghanistan is at the cross-roads of peace and stability'
Speaking of the renewed push for peace and stability in Afghanistan, the foreign minister said: "The renewed push for peace has created a new opportunity and every effort must be made to seize it. We cannot afford to miss this rare opportunity.

"Let me conclude by reiterating Pakistan’s unshakable resolve to support peace, stability and long-term prosperity of Afghanistan and appreciating your respective contributions toward that end.

"It is the leadership of the country that can steer it out of conflict and put it on the path of stability and prosperity. This is a test of the wisdom and sagacity of everyone involved.

"The people of Afghanistan are looking towards their leaders including all those present here, with the hope for a better future, a future that they so earnestly deserve."

Heads of all Afghan political parties and the political advisory to the Afghan president are participating in the conference.

In all, fifty seven delegates are attending the moot including Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, senators and members of Afghan parliament.

The conference is being held before Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's visit to Pakistan, which is expected to take place on next Thursday.

President Dr Arif Alvi will host a banquet in honour of delegates and participants of the conference will also call on Prime Minister Imran Khan.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1489753/p...istan-that-is-at-peace-with-itself-fm-qureshi

 

[Loralai]

Biggest obstacle to peace in Afghanistan has been Pakistan's own foreign policy. Lets hope that there is some change now. Imran said he wanted open borders between Afg and Pak but nothing has happened to facilitate this yet.

A good starting step would be to give all Afghan refugees in Pakistan the option of citizenship. They must be officially integrated into Pakistan society.

 

[AdamM97]

Biggest obstacle to peace in Afghanistan has been Pakistan's own foreign policy. Lets hope that there is some change now. Imran said he wanted open borders between Afg and Pak but nothing has happened to facilitate this yet.

A good starting step would be to give all Afghan refugees in Pakistan the option of citizenship. They must be officially integrated into Pakistan society.

Send back all Afghan refugees and fence the borders! We have our own issues to deal with, can’t afford more poverty and more problems.

 

[Loralai]

Send back all Afghan refugees and fence the borders! We have our own issues to deal with, can’t afford more poverty and more problems.

Wrong policy. Many Afghans have been living in Pakistan for 3+ generations, their homes and business are here. Time to accept them as Pakistanis and integrate them officially into the system.

We can't afford more poverty and more problems - I agree. But these aren't being caused by refugees who are vulnerable and escaped a war torn country. Our problems are caused by a greedy and corrupt Establishment who needs to be taken to task.

 

[AdamM97]

Wrong policy. Many Afghans have been living in Pakistan for 3+ generations, their homes and business are here. Time to accept them as Pakistanis and integrate them officially into the system.

We can't afford more poverty and more problems - I agree. But these aren't being caused by refugees who are vulnerable and escaped a war torn country. Our problems are caused by a greedy and corrupt Establishment who needs to be taken to task.

We have our own problems and i don’t have any empathy for Afghans who hate Pakistan and Pakistanis.

We have poor people ourselves and need to do something about that. Over 100 issues and you want to add 30 more.

 

[Asim_khan]

Wrong policy. Many Afghans have been living in Pakistan for 3+ generations, their homes and business are here. Time to accept them as Pakistanis and integrate them officially into the system.

We can't afford more poverty and more problems - I agree. But these aren't being caused by refugees who are vulnerable and escaped a war torn country. Our problems are caused by a greedy and corrupt Establishment who needs to be taken to task.

How does Akhtar Mengal feel about this?

 

[warcry]

Wrong policy. Many Afghans have been living in Pakistan for 3+ generations, their homes and business are here. Time to accept them as Pakistanis and integrate them officially into the system.

We can't afford more poverty and more problems - I agree. But these aren't being caused by refugees who are vulnerable and escaped a war torn country. Our problems are caused by a greedy and corrupt Establishment who needs to be taken to task.

Absolutely, give the afghans pakistani citizenship and integrate them into society,. And while we are at it, Why not integrate all of Afghanistan? give all afghanis pakistani citizenship and annex afghanistan in the process?

We all know how much Afghanistan government rejects the durrand line, so we can remove it when we remove afghanistan of the political map altogether so it is a win-win.

The Only reason Afghanistan came into being and has the border as it is, is because the british empire wanted a buffer zone with the Russian Empire, a neutral territory, so that there would be no tension between the two empires.

Now that neither empire exists, Afghanistan only purpose in life is to produce heroine and opium and smuggle it into into the rest of the world, so the the americans have a militery bases to project power into iran, pakistan, china and central asia.

The the region, and the world will be better off without afghanistan in existance.

 

[Lonewarrior]

 

[Pakistanian]

Biggest obstacle to peace in Afghanistan has been Pakistan's own foreign policy. Lets hope that there is some change now.

Afghanistan's policy towards to Pakistan is the root of Pakistan's foreign policy. Afghanistan should learn from Mexico and accept the border with Pakistan just like how Mexico no longer claims the southwest of America (California, Texas etc) and in exchange has benefited with close relations with America. As long as the border dispute remains Pakistan can't trust Afghanistan and that's how any country would feel.

 

[PakLFC]

Pak is the greatest beneficiary of peace next door. Afghanistan needs to stop blaming Pak for it's problems all the time instead look inwards. Pak has to support whoever is in power in Kabul as long as they don't engage in across border terrorism. Providing that happens there s no need for Pak to get involved in Afghanistan's domestic affairs.

 

[sweep_shot]

ISLAMABAD: United States Special Envoy for Afghan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad called on Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday as efforts for revival of peace negotiations between the US and Taliban gained momentum.

Amb Khalilzad, who is here for the second time in a month, is also expected to meet senior civil and military officials to discuss the latest developments related to the peace talks.

The prime minister told the visiting diplomat that as a sincere facilitator and a friend, Pakistan remained ready to do everything possible in its capacity, as part of a shared responsibility, for early conclusion of the peace deal between the US and Taliban.

He reiterated Pakistan’s steadfast and sincere support to the Afghan peace and reconciliation process and underlined the need to overcome the difficulties so that an enduring political solution to the Afghan conflict could be achieved at the earliest.

He stressed that it was important for all sides to take practical steps for reduction of violence in Afghanistan. He further underscored that it was equally important to guard against the negative narratives and efforts by any quarter to undermine the progress made so far through painstaking efforts.

“Achieving sustainable peace and security and ensuring long-term development, progress and prosperity in Afghanistan and the region is in Pakistan’s best national interest,” the PM told Amb Khalilzad.

During his last trip at the start of the month, Amb Khalilzad had held secret talks with a delegation from Taliban’s Qatar-based political office on the resumption of their negotiations that broke down in September following an attack in Kabul in which an American soldier was killed.

The two sides were close to signing an agreement when President Trump through a tweet announced an end to all contacts with Taliban and cancelled a previously unannounced meeting with President Ashraf Ghani and Taliban leaders.

The US special envoy, before reaching Islamabad on the latest visit, toured Kabul where he briefed President Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and other Afghan leaders on recent activities for revival of the negotiations.

He earlier last week attended quadrilateral talks with diplomats from Pakistan, China, and Russia in Moscow. One of the key objectives of the Moscow meeting was to review the stalemate in the peace process since US-Taliban dialogue broke down.

The communiqué issued from Moscow said: “Russia, China and Pakistan expressed their support for the earliest resumption of the negotiation process and reaching an agreement between the United States of America and the Taliban movement, which will pave the way for launching intra-Afghan talks.”

The four countries at their Moscow meeting further “urged all sides to immediately reduce violence” to create “an environment conducive for negotiations”.

Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1513493/khalilzad-pm-discuss-efforts-for-peace-in-afghanistan.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Biggest obstacle to peace in Afghanistan has been Pakistan's own foreign policy. Lets hope that there is some change now. Imran said he wanted open borders between Afg and Pak but nothing has happened to facilitate this yet.

A good starting step would be to give all Afghan refugees in Pakistan the option of citizenship. They must be officially integrated into Pakistan society.

Dear Lora,

Your thoughts are kind.

For all the wrongdoings of Pakistan in Afghanistan, they must now contribute seriously in rebuilding them.

I request Imran to do the following:-

1. Pledge USD 5 billion for construction projects in Afghanistan
2. Immediately stop terror funding as already adviced by FATF
3. Grant citizenship to 1 million 3rd generation Afghanistanis in Pakistan
4. Open Af-Pak border for smooth travel of Afghan refugees
5. Give two fighter jets as a gift to GOA
6. Plan a bilateral series to be played at Kabul

It is time for retribution

 

[Knight_Rider]

Afghanistan’s problems are deeper than the recent foreign invasions by USSR and then Americans. It was created as a nation state for Pashtuns but in reality is a multiethnic society, with fractions on ethnical basis and differing alliances. Its also lags far behind in civilized developments and war lords control their kingdoms within the country.

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday invited Afghan peace chief Dr Abdullah Abdullah to discuss ways for clearing the path to intra-Afghan dialogue.

Prime Minister Khan, according to his office, called the chairman of Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation, Dr Abdullah Abdullah, and invited him “to visit Pakistan at the earliest to share perspectives on advancing the Afghan peace process and forging closer ties between the two countries”.

Mr Khan said Pakistan looked forward to the commencement of intra-Afghan talks at the earliest. He urged Afghan leaders to seize the historic opportunity for achieving an inclusive political settlement.

The call followed a meeting between Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and a Taliban delegation from their Qatar-based political office led by Mullah Baradar, the deputy chief of insurgents dealing with political affairs, at the Foreign Office on Tuesday.

Ways to clear path to intra-Afghan dialogue will be discussed with Dr Abdullah Abdullah

Mr Qureshi had after the talks said: “After listening to the Taliban delegation, I’m optimistic of progress in the near future despite problems and the presence of spoilers. Hopefully a way out would be found.”

The foreign minister had further said: “The Taliban look ready and agreeable to moving in the direction of a settlement of the outstanding issues through dialogue.” Mr Qureshi’s comments created fresh hopes for talks that have been held back because of an impasse over the issue of release of prisoners.

The Afghan government was to release 5,000 Taliban militants in exchange for its 1,000 Afghan security forces personnel held by the insurgents under an agreement signed by the US and Taliban in February.

The Afghan government is, however, reluctant to release the remaining 320 Taliban prisoners despite an approval by the Loya Jirga and a subsequent presidential decree ordering their release. The latest demand of the Afghan government is that Taliban set free 22 more Afghan commandoes in their captivity.

Mr Abdullah, after talking to Mr Khan, tweeted that both leaders during their conversation emphasised the importance of the “unique opportunity to reduce violence, start I/A talks & pursue a path to a dignified & durable peace”.

While thanking Mr Khan for the invitation, Mr Abdullah said, he would visit Pakistan in near future.

Mr Abdullah too has been advocating the release of the remaining Taliban prisoners so that the long-awaited talks could start.

“We are calling for the completion of the prisoner exchange & immediate beginning of the intra-Afghan talks to put an end to agony of a nation,” he tweeted on Monday.

Foreign minister
In a related development, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday informed the top outgoing diplomat of US in Islamabad, Mr Paul Jones, that efforts for Afghan peace had reached a critical phase.

“The foreign minister said … the process has now reached a crucial phase and all Afghan sides should seize this historic opportunity and commence intra-Afghan negotiations at the earliest to achieve an inclusive and comprehensive political settlement,” a statement of Foreign Office quoted the foreign minister as telling the US ambassador.

US Charge d’Affaires Ambassador Paul Jones visited Mr Qureshi for a farewell call.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1576637/imran-invites-afghan-peace-chief-for-talks