Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Monday told Pakistani media that Islamabad is cooperating with Washington to find a political solution to the protracted conflict in Afghanistan.
“Presently, there is new thinking within the Trump administration and a new convergence of interests is emerging. PM Imran Khan has been stressing that there is no military solution to the Afghan conflict,” Qureshi said.
“If we want peace in Afghanistan, it must come through a negotiated political settlement. Reconciliation through an intra-Afghan dialogue is the best way forward,” Qureshi added.
This comes after the Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad is leading an interagency delegation to Belgium, Germany, Turkey, Qatar, Afghanistan, and Pakistan from February 10 – 28, the US State Department said in a statement late Sunday.
“This trip is part of an overall effort to facilitate a peace process that protects US national security interests and brings all Afghan parties together in an intra-Afghan dialogue through which they can determine a path for their country’s future,” it said.
“He will meet with our allies and partners to discuss mutual efforts to advance that goal and will consult with the Afghan government throughout the trip,” the statement read.
In January the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan said Pakistani and Turkish officials have held talks on the prospects of peace in Afghanistan.
“I had a meeting with Turkish minister of foreign affairs where I got the opportunity to talk with him about the changing situation in Afghanistan,” said Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
