WASHINGTON: Pakistan and US have agreed that continued cooperation between the two countries will be in the interest of peace, security and stability in South Asia.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi held separate meetings with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the State Department and US National Security Adviser John Bolton at the White House and discussed Pakistan-US relations as well as regional situation in South Asia, including Afghanistan.
During meeting with Bolton, Qureshi shared Pakistan’s perspective on regional and global issues. In the context of achieving stability in South Asia, he briefed his US interlocutor about India’s aggressive posturing in the region. After initially agreeing to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s peace initiative, the government in India had caved into internal politics, he said.
The minister underscored that on its part Pakistan remained committed to engaging India in a comprehensive peace dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. On Afghanistan, the minister reiterated Pakistan’s long-held position that there was no military solution to the conflict. He said Pakistan would continue to support the efforts for an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan.
Welcoming the renewed US focus on achieving a political resolution in Afghanistan, the foreign minister underscored that Pakistan regarded peace and stability in Afghanistan as vital for its own long-term stability and progress. Referring to Pakistan’s continued efforts to positively engage the National Unity government in Afghanistan, he underlined that the Afghanistan Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) provided the most effective mechanism to promote mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.
During his meeting with Mike Pompeo, Qureshi discussed bilateral issues and matters pertaining to regional security. He said Pakistan wants to work with the US to bring peace and prosperity in Afghanistan while the US President Donald Trump’s administration seeks Islamabad’s help in negotiating talks with the Taliban. He said close engagement between Pakistan and the United States had always been mutually beneficial and a factor for stability in South Asia.
Appreciating Pakistan’s support for reconciliation in Afghanistan, Pompeo said the US looked forward to working with the new government. Both the leaders observed that time was ripe for the Afghan Taliban to grab the opportunity for a political settlement by seizing the opportunity for dialogue.
Foreign Minister Qureshi also met US Senators Cory Booker and Lindsey Graham and exchanged views on the bilateral relations and the regional situation in South Asia.
The foreign minister was accompanied by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua and Ambassador Ali Jahangir Siddiqui during the meetings.
Published in Daily Times, October 4th 2018.
