Pakistan has no favourites in Afghanistan: FM Qureshi

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday said Pakistan has no favourites in Afghanistan and Islamabad does not want to meddle in the internal affairs of the country.

Pakistan, earlier this month, proposed a four-point formula for the Afghan peace process that envisages continued support to Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process while respecting consensus emerging from intra-Afghan talks and ensuring violence never returns to the country nor the Afghan soil is used by terrorist outfits.

"Security and stability is what we need and our security and stability is interlinked. I want to give a clear message: We have no favourites and do not want to meddle in your internal affairs. We respect and want to respect your sovereignty, your independence and your territorial integrity," said the foreign minister while speaking at the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad alongside Chairman of the Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah.

Abdullah is currently on a three-day visit to Pakistan amidst the backdrop of on-going talks between the Afghan government and Taliban. This is the first high-level visit from Afghanistan in several months, highlighting increased interaction between the two neighbours with prospects of a possible political end to the two-decade-long war in sight.

Qureshi added that Pakistan will accept what "whatever consensus evolves through your dialogue and negotiations" and also assured Kabul of Islamabad’s complete support for the Afghan peace process.

"That's the paradigm shift and a new realisation and recognition if we have to coexist in peace and build a common future," said the country’s top diplomat. The foreign minister also reiterated that a political settlement was the only solution to end the now two-decades-long conflict in Afghanistan. He added that the thinking has evolved in recent years that the Afghan issue can not be resolved with military might.

Qureshi, warning of spoilers, said an overwhelming majority of Afghans want peace and only Afghans can decide the future of their country.

Referring to the ongoing talks between the Afghan delegation and the Taliban, the foreign minister said the dialogue is a “unique and historic opportunity for peace in Afghanistan” and it must be seized by the Afghan leadership. He also emphasized on greater collaboration between Pakistan and Afghanistan to build a common future.

Speaking at the same event, Abdullah Abdullah stressed that with the emerging political and geo-economic challenges it has become more urgent than ever to “draw necessary lessons from the realities of the past four decades”.

Earlier, he had praised Pakistan’s role in facilitating the peace process.