Pakistan’s embassy in Kabul to stay open: FM Qureshi

The Pakistani embassy in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul is open and will keep functioning in the coming days too, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said.

However, he said, that Pakistan will facilitate anyone who is “stranded” there as Taliban troops entered the city on Sunday noon.

A Taliban spokesman announced they will not take Kabul by force

and that the fate of the city would be determined through negotiation.

However, there were conflicting reports on Taliban fighters’

presence in different parts of the city.

There are also talks of a peaceful transfer of power to a

transitional government and the possibility that the said government will be

headed by Ali Ahmad Jalali.

Qureshi, during a press conference in Multan, reiterated

Pakistan’s stance that there is no military solution for Afghanistan’s issues.

“The world has a consensus on the view that only dialogue can help

resolve the situation there,” he said. We should try to reach a peaceful

solution which is inclusive and broad-based.”

Qureshi was of the view that all ethnic groups in the war-torn

country should get their due representation and that all of them should be

allowed to find a way forward together.

“These are testing times for the Afghan government. The people of

the country want nothing but peace. They don’t want to lose their homes, they

don’t want to get displaced,” he said. “They want daily life to go on and their

rights to be protected. We wish for the same.”

Qureshi said Pakistan has participated positively in all dialogues

aimed at the Afghan peace process including the talks in Doha Process and

Troika Plus meetings.

He said Pakistan’s “diplomatic outreach” is active and that he has

a call scheduled with his United Kingdom counterpart later today. He said he’ll

contact Afghanistan’s neighbours and will have discussions with them. “We want

to be on the same page as the other neighbours.”

Qureshi said he is also going to meet a delegation consisting of

some “important leaders” from Afghanistan in the coming days.

“Our role will be positive and we don’t intend to interfere in their internal issues,” he said, adding that Pakistan “has no favourite” in Afghanistan. “Whatever the government and the Taliban decide together we will welcome that.”