Upon meeting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday on the sidelines of the 76th United Nations General Assembly session, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi stated that Pakistan does not have the capacity to bear more Afghan refugees.
Pakistan has time and again called on the international community to help the Afghans and unfreeze the country’s assets abroad after the Taliban took over the country in mid-August in a lightning sweep.
The foreign minister met his counterpart on the sidelines of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he informed him of Pakistan’s stance on Afghanistan.
The foreign minister, during the meeting, said Pakistan was working towards averting a possible humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, as he called upon the international community to play a positive role and engage with the newly-formed Taliban government in Kabul.
The foreign minister told his counterpart that Pakistan aspires to promote trade, investment, and people-to-people contact with the United States.
After Blinken had said that Washington would reassess its relationship with Pakistan in the coming days, Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar On September 16 had said the United States’s announcement was “surprising” as we have played a positive role in the Afghan peace process.
Following the meeting, Qureshi said he had reiterated Pakistan’s focus on a relationship with the US-based on trade, investment, energy and regional connectivity.
Both US and Pakistan said they will issue statements at the meeting later in the day. Blinken is also scheduled to give a press briefing at 4:45 pm local time.
Speaking to various US media sources, senior US State Department officials said they were aware of the Taliban’s request but the deliberations “would take some time”, indicating that the Taliban representative would not address the UNGA on Sept 27.
