Pakistan urges all sides to move forward on Afghan talks in good faith

By News Desk

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday called on all sides to carry forward the Afghanistan negotiations through good faith and said the peace process was at a “defining juncture” as the war-ravaged country had “never been so close to turning to tide”.

“Our message to all is to carry forward this process through good faith, solid and fruitful dialogue,” he said in his speech at the 9th Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process (HoA-IP) Ministerial Conference in the Tajik capital, where he called for a united approach by regional countries to help restore the prosperity of the Afghan people.

“As we gather here today, the Afghan peace process stands at a defining juncture. Having faced conflict and instability for over 40 years, Afghanistan has never been so close to turning the tide,” the foreign minister said.

He said the gathering of Afghan parties in Doha was “unthinkable before”, and was followed by another milestone in the form of the US-Taliban Peace Agreement. “The progress made thus far has, indeed, created a historic opportunity for the Afghan leadership to achieve an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive negotiated political settlement,” Qureshi said.

“We have arrived at this stage, guided by the conviction that there is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan,” he added. “It is imperative that this belief continues to guide the Afghan parties, and the international community supporting the aspirations of the Afghan people.”

He said in Islamabad’s outreach to Afghan leaders across a wide spectrum, Pakistan has consistently urged them to remain constructively engaged for securing a positive outcome. “Our message to all of them is to take the process forward through good faith, substantive and result-oriented negotiations,” he said.

He stressed that Pakistan would continue to support a peaceful and stable Afghanistan through a political instead of a military solution to the conflict and termed the Heart of Asia Process an important platform to bring together partners and supporting countries who wanted to achieve the common goals of peace, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan.

For Pakistan, he said, Afghanistan was an important neighbour and brotherly country with strong historical ties. “Pakistan desires peace and development in Afghanistan more than any other nation,” he said.

He recalled the historic development of signing of the US-Taliban peace agreement in February 2020 and the positive role played by Pakistan in this regard. The foreign minister said besides the historic opportunity, several challenges for the Afghan nation lied ahead and warned of the “spoilers inside and outside Afghanistan”.

He expressed deep concern over the growing incidents of violence across Afghanistan, fearing that ISIS or al-Qaeda could gain a foothold in the country. He said the destruction of infrastructure and the lack of economic opportunities could jeopardise the benefits of the Afghan peace process.

Qureshi emphasised taking forward and strengthening the Doha peace process and called upon the international community to secure investment in Afghanistan to achieve the goals of prosperity.

The minister proposed a number of steps towards Afghan peace including an immediate ceasefire to reduce violence, financial assistance by international community for post-conflict development, long-term planning for Afghanistan’s economic development and creating a conducive environment for Afghan refugees to return home with dignity.

The foreign minister mentioned that besides facilitating the peace process, Pakistan was providing all possible assistance to Afghanistan and had already pledged one billion dollars for its development and reconstruction.

He said Pakistan had spent about $500 million on infrastructure and capacity building projects in Afghanistan and also introduced a new visa regime to facilitate travellers. Despite the pandemic, he said, Pakistan opened five border crossings to facilitate travellers and trade from Afghanistan. “Pakistan has also activated the Gwadar port for Afghan transit trade,” he added.

Qureshi said Pakistan was keen to move forward on regional connectivity and energy projects such as CASA-1000 and TAPI and mentioned that the Trans-Afghan railway project connecting Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan was being pursued to promote trade, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

He said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as the flagship project of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was open with beneficial prospects for Afghanistan. The foreign minister said under the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process, Pakistan was a participant in all confidence building measures and a lead country in disaster management and environmental protection and agricultural development.

He recalled that Pakistan hosted first virtual meeting of Regional Technical Group of Agriculture Development CBM on March 5 and the areas of cooperation agreed in the meeting included plant quarantine system, advancement of seed industry and value crop production.

The 9th Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process Ministerial Conference was attended by 15 countries of the region, 16 supporting States and 12 regional and international organisations.