Past Pakistani support for Taliban pursuit of national interest: FM Qureshi

"Nation has enduring ties with valuable allies"

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has termed the nation's past support for Afghan Taliban as pursuit of national interest.

The foreign minister made the remarks while talking to Al-Jazeera in an interview broadcast on Thursday. Questioned on the aforementioned account, Qureshi said previous Pakistani governments were "helping their country".



"They were helping overcome a situation which was not of their own creation. Who were these people? Who supported them? Who trained them? We forget history and at times overlook that friends change. Weren't they invited to the United States? Weren't they entertained in the White House? Friends change. Circumstances change. We were just defending and protecting ourselves."

On fraying ties with the United States, FM Qureshi said the nation recognised the importance of having cordial ties with the former. “We want the US to be friends with Pakistan. We recognise that the US is an important global power and they will continue to be a military, technological and economic power in the foreseeable future."



Referring to changing power dynamics in the region, Qureshi said while the Trump administration looked at cultivating new relationships, Pakistan had enduring ties with valuable allies.

"We do have friends who have been consistent and very valuable. China is one of them. They recognise how important Pakistan is. We are not alone. Everyone has options."



On Pakistan-India relations, FM Qureshi cited Prime Minister Imran Khan’s dialogue offer in his maiden speech. We did what we thought made sense, he said. "Two neighbours with outstanding issues, atomic powers. How do you fix things? War is no option. There is no military solution. The only solution is a dialogue."

Qureshi said eradicating corruption, enhancing human capital and solving the nation's external debt woes were among the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)-led government's chief priorities.