Blinken discusses Afghanistan with Qureshi

By News Desk

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the situation in Afghanistan as President Arif Alvi said Islamabad would like to have assurances from the Taliban that the Afghan soil would not be used against Pakistan or any other country.

Taliban fighters captured Kabul on Sunday after the Afghan government collapsed and President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, bringing a dramatic end to a two-decade campaign in which the US and its allies had tried to transform the war-ravaged nation.

State Department spokes-person Ned Price, who told reporters about the phone call at his news briefing on Monday, did not give any further details. “Secretary of State Antony J Blinken spoke today with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Qureshi discussed Afghanistan and the developing situation there,” Price said.

President Alvi, in an interview with TRT’s Strait Talk, said: “We will always like assurances, the ones which were given to China and the United States, that the Afghan territory will never be used against any other country.”

The President was responding to host Ayese Suberker as she asked if Pakistan was concerned about terrorist groups resurfacing after the Taliban took over and about any preconditions with the new dispensation in Afghanistan.

President Alvi mentioned that the Taliban had given assurances to China and the US and he expected the same for Pakistan. “On the same principle, I am very hopeful that the similar attitude will be there with Pakistan as far as Afghanistan’s new government whatever form it takes,” he said.

He said international norms settled in the Charter of the United Nations also supported such conduct. To check the inflow of terrorists, he said, Pakistan had fenced its borders with Afghanistan.

To a question if Pakistan was likely to recognise the Taliban as a legitimate representative of the Afghan people, he said: “Whatever decision the government makes will happen with the consultation of a number of countries. First, we have to evaluate the situation as it emerges,” he said. Asked if Pakistan found the Taliban “trustworthy”, Alvi said: “Whoever is [ruling] in Afghanistan, we will trust them as our neighbour to ensure peace.”

President Alvi termed the US withdrawal from Afghanistan as “hasty” and said Pakistan always tried to persuade the US that negotiations were the better solution.

He regretted that be it the Vietnam War or the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan, humanity quickly forgets the lessons learned.

The President pointed out that blaming Pakistan for the situation in Afghanistan had become a fashion, however, he stressed that the swift collapse in Afghanistan had shown the world that it was far beyond for the countries to play their roles.

“With the US presence of 20 years in Afghanistan, almost two trillion dollars spending and investing hundreds of billions for the development, I think the blame game and finding a scapegoat is easy,” he said.

On Pakistan’s role in bringing stability to the war-torn country, Alvi said Pakistan looked forward to the resumption of peace in Afghanistan and was ready to play a role in its reconstruction.

He said during the four-decade long conflict in Afghanistan, Pakistan was the “biggest loser” in terms of suffering the impact after Afghanistan itself. “With return of peace in Afghanistan, Pakistan will be the biggest winner,” he said, expressing optimism that things would settle down quite fast. He mentioned that Pakistan was hosting four million refugees and stressed that such a gesture must be considered as a matter of goodwill by the Afghan people.

Alvi said Pakistan was in touch with China, Russia, Turkey and the US to pursue the agenda of development of the region. However, he stressed that India was playing the role of a spoiler and urged it to not use any other territory against Pakistan.