ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday reiterated Pakistan’s continued support for a peaceful, stable, united, democratic, sovereign and prosperous Afghanistan.
Addressing the 9th Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process, in Dushanbe on Tuesday, he said that Afghan people have a historic opportunity for establishing peace in their country. He said that the deliberations at the conference will be meaningful and productive and the Dushanbe declaration will reflect Pakistan’s resolve to support and stand by the Afghan people at this most consequential time in their history.
Expressing concern over the violence in Afghanistan, he said that precious lives are being lost due to violent incidents in the country.
He said that Pakistan played a vital role for continuing the Afghan peace process.
He also said that Pakistan consistently urged the Afghan people to remain constructively engaged for securing a positive outcome. He urged the Afghan people to take the process forward through good faith, substantive and result-oriented negotiation.
Highlighting Pakistan’s contribution towards Afghanistan’s development, Qureshi said that besides facilitating the peace process Pakistan has been extending all possible support to Afghanistan.
He said that Pakistan has committed $1 billion for Afghanistan’s development and reconstruction out of which nearly $500 million have already been spent on infrastructure and capacity building projects. He added that a new visa regime has been instituted to facilitate travel.
Qureshi said that besides Covid-19 Pakistan has opened five border crossing points with Afghanistan to facilitate bilateral and transit trade. Pakistan has also operationalised Gwadar Sea Port for Afghan Transit Trade, he added.
He said that Pakistan is committed to move forward on regional connectivity and energy projects such as CASA 100 and TAPI.
Mentioning the negative role of spoilers in the Afghan peace process, the foreign minister said that Pakistan has consistently cautioned against the role of the spoilers both within and outside Afghanistan. He said that we remain deeply concerned about the continuation of firings across Afghanistan resulting in loss of precious lives. He said that any space gained by ISIS and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan will accentuate the threat of terrorism.
Expressing concern over the risk posed by the damaged infrastructure in the war-torn country and lack of the economic opportunities, he said that these factors will undermine the gains made in the peace process.
He also said that the signing of the Doha Agreement was a moment of hope and optimism and it must be our collective endeavor to ensure that this hope is not lost.
For this, everyone will have to show every bit of patience, commitment and perseverance, adding that the constructive engagement and consultation on all key aspects is imperative.
The foreign minister said that flexibility and spirit of compromise would be indispensible. He suggested that the progress made on the Doha Process should be consolidated preserving the international community’s adjustment and the development gains made over the years, ensuring an orderly and responsible withdrawal making sure that reduction in violence and ceasefire is achieved at the earliest, culminating the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process into a political solution, securing the international community’s financial engagement to support Afghanistan in its post-conflict path to progress.
He also said that the process should also include the long-term reconstruction and economic development for Afghanistan creating pull factors for the Afghan refugees to return to their homeland with dignity and honour through a time bound and well-resourced plan.
Expressing pleasure over participation in the conference, foreign minister felicitated the Tajik government for convening the conference amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
QURESHI, GHANI DISCUSS PEACE EFFORTS:
Foreign Minister Qureshi and Afghan President Ghani discussed relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan and efforts for lasting peace and stability in the war-torn country.
The meeting between the two occurred on the sidelines of the conference, said a press statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.
“Pakistan believes there is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and that an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement was essential for durable peace and stability in Afghanistan,” Qureshi reiterated, adding that peaceful and stable Afghanistan is in the interest of Pakistan.
He further remarked that Pakistan is a partner for peace in Afghanistan and towards that end, Pakistan is constructively engaged with the international community to reinforce the efforts for peace. He further underlined that intra-Afghan negotiations in Doha achieved progress which should lay the foundation to take the process forward.
He expressed hope that as the peace efforts moved forward, the Afghans would make important decisions for reaching the negotiated political settlement. “Durable process in Afghanistan would enhance opportunities for working together on infrastructure and energy connectivity between Central Asia and West Asia through Afghanistan,” FM Qureshi said while highlighting the importance of regional connectivity.
He also had a separate meeting with Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar to discuss bilateral relations and the Afghan peace process.
The meeting comes on the heel of a proposal from Afghan President Ashraf Ghani who is expected to announce a new presidential election within six months under a peace plan he will put forward as a counter-offer to the Pakistan-brokered US proposal that he rejects.
Ghani will unveil his proposal at an international gathering in Turkey in April, signalling his refusal to accept Washington’s plan for his elected government to be replaced by an interim administration.
But he will participate only if Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhunzada, or Mullah Yaqub — the son of the militants’ late founder, Mullah Omar — attends, Reuters reported.
Washington, which agreed last year to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by May 1 after nearly two decades of war, is pressing for a peace deal to end fighting between the government and the Taliban.
Talks between the Afghan sides in Qatar have stalled.
The Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan with an iron fist from 1996 to 2001, are seeking to topple the Western-backed government in Kabul and reimpose their brand of rule.
US Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has been circulating a proposal which would replace the Kabul government with an interim administration. But Ghani has voiced vehement opposition to any solution that requires his government to step aside for unelected successors.
“The counterproposal which we are going to present at the Istanbul meeting would be to call for early presidential elections if the Taliban agree on a ceasefire,” one senior government official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Another Afghan government official said: “The president would never agree to step aside and any future government should be formed through a democratic process, not a political deal.”
A third senior official also said that Ghani’s proposal would include possible early elections, although he did not specify the time frame. The third official said Ghani had already shared his road map with Khalilzad.
MARKETS ON BORDERING AREAS WITH IRAN:
Pakistan and Iran on Tuesday agreed to implement Prime Minister Imran’s initiative to develop joint border markets in Pak, Iran bordering areas and the need to expeditiously finalise the arrangement to facilitate legal trade and improve livelihood in the border region.
The agreement was reached during a meeting between Foreign Minister Qureshi and Iranian Foreign Minister Dr Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the 9th Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia–Istanbul Process in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
The meeting was held on the heels of a landmark agreement between Iran and China as the former joined the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of China while Pakistan is also a principal signatory of the cooperation agreement.
During the meeting, the two foreign ministers reviewed bilateral relations and exchanged views on regional issues, particularly the Afghan peace process.
“Foreign Minister Qureshi emphasised the importance of enhanced bilateral economic cooperation. Referring to the prime minister’s initiative to develop joint border markets, the two foreign ministers agreed on the need to expeditiously finalise the arrangement to facilitate legal trade and improve livelihood in the border region. The two foreign ministers also reviewed progress on the opening of new border crossing point,” an official, statement said.
Foreign Minister Qureshi expressed the hope that the Afghan parties would seize the historic opportunity to work out an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned political settlement. He underlined the need to consolidate progress achieved in Doha process and take the process forward. Expressing concern on high level of violence, he underscored the importance of reduction in violence leading to ceasefire.
Foreign Minister Qureshi also underlined the need to be cognisant of ‘spoilers’, who did not wish to see return of peace and stability in the region. He added that a peaceful and stable Afghanistan would help in improving connectivity and promote infrastructure development in the region.
The Pakistani foreign minister thanked for Iran’s steadfast support on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and Prime Minister Imran’s efforts to counter Islamophobia and promote inter-faith harmony. The two foreign ministers agreed to remain in close contact and maintain bilateral political exchanges.
PAKISTAN, INDIA FOREIGN MINISTERS MAY MEET:
The conference, among others, is also being attended by India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
The participation of both the ministers at the conference has sparked speculation of a possible meeting between the two leaders amidst recent peace overtures between the two neighbours.
But Qureshi on Monday said that no meeting has been “finalised or requested” so far with Jaishankar. Last week, Jaishankar also did not give a specific reply to questions on whether he will meet Qureshi on the sidelines of the event, The Hindu reported.
The meeting, if takes place, represents a thawing in bilateral ties, which have been frozen since a 2019 suicide bombing in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) blamed on Pakistan and India’s decision later that year to strip the disputed region’s autonomous status in order to bind it closer to India.
But over the past few weeks, the two governments have made tentative efforts to re-engage and calm the borders as they struggle to extricate their countries from the worst economic downturn ever amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
About a month after the armies of Pakistan and India agreed to observe a ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC), Bloomberg revealed the months-long talks that preceded the landmark announcement were brokered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The cease-fire, the report which cited sources said, is only the beginning of a larger roadmap to forge a lasting peace between the arch-rival neighbours.
The next step in the process involves both sides reinstating high commissioners in New Delhi and Islamabad, who were pulled in August 2019 after Pakistan protested India’s move to revoke the semi-autonomous status of occupied Kashmir.
The reinstatement of the envoys will be followed by the hard part: Talks on resuming trade and a lasting resolution on Kashmir.
Pakistan is well-known in the world for its dual-handedness. Pakistan is fostering violence and instability in Afghanistan by continuing to help the Taliban and other Afghan terrorist groups, providing them with weapons, resources, and training while making such statements to protect its international image. If Pakistan is equally concerned about peace in Afghanistan, then first stop providing arms to the Taliban and terrorists. With this, the ISI’s intervention in Afghanistan should be ended so that the Taliban are forced to come on the path of peace.