Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Sunday said that the United States (US) has admitted Pakistan’s viewpoint that dialogue was the only solution to bring about peace in Afghanistan.
Talking to the media, he said that the use of force was not a solution to the Afghanistan issue. He said that US President Donald Trump had agreed with Pakistan’s stance and reviewed his Afghan policy. He also said that the Afghanistan government also agreed on dialogue, adding that Pakistan was ready to help the US for restoring peace in the neighbouring country.
The foreign minister said that Prime Minister Imran Khan was called ‘Taliban Khan’ when he suggested a dialogue with Taliban fighters, adding that progress in the region was linked to peace in Afghanistan. He stated that the government restored political activities in tribal areas and also merged them into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) besides conducting operation against terrorists. He said that the government was making preparations for the local government elections in tribal areas and sports activities were being restored there.
Qureshi said that Indian army’s brutalities in held Kashmir were also being condemned by the Indian people, political parties and intellectuals and said the Indian policy in the held valley had failed. He also said that he had suggested marking the Kashmir Day in London on February 5 in order to highlight Indian human rights violations in held Kashmir. He said that Pakistan had always raised voice for Kashmir at every platform. He said that he had also raised the issue during his speech in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). He said that announcement of head money on Indian political leader and former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu was regrettable.
To a question, Qureshi said that the government was striving to improve the economic condition of the country, adding that PM Khan’s visits to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Malaysia and China produced positive results.
Qureshi appreciated Finance Minister Asad Umar’s efforts to stabilise the country’s economy. He said that efforts were being made to bring foreign investment to the country to stabilise the economy.
The minister said that Punjab was the top priority of the federal government, adding that the PTI-led government was committed to creating a province in southern Punjab. He said that the government was taking all steps, including allocation of development funds, the establishment of sub-secretariat in the region. He hoped that south Punjab province would be created during the incumbent government’s tenure.
The foreign minister spent a busy day on Sunday and paid a visit to NA-156 constituency as well.
Later, he inquired about the health of renowned religious scholar Mazhar Saeed Kazmi at his residence and a PTI worker, Akbar Bhutta, at the ICU of Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi Institute of Cardiology.
