Pakistan FM to Visit Afghanistan as Part of His Tour to Regional Countries

Pakistani delegation led by the country’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will embark a three-day tour on Monday to Afghanistan, Iran, China, and Russia.

The Pakistani delegation will visit the countries from December 24-26, 2018, the Express Tribune said citing a statement issued by the Foreign Office.

During the visit, Qureshi is expected to discuss Pakistan’s bilateral relations with the senior leadership of the countries including Afghanistan to strengthen cooperation in various areas.

“Implementing the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan is eager to strengthen ties with neighbours and regional partners. Such cooperation is the key to unleashing Pakistan’s considerable potential and expanding mutually beneficial economic cooperation and development,” the statement said.

The recent developments concerning peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan would also be discussed during these meetings, the newspaper said.

It comes about a week after Kabul hosted the second round of trilateral dialogue with China and Pakistan in which the sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Counter-Terrorism to advance their cooperation in this regard.

FM Qureshi said that a stable and peaceful Afghanistan is in Pakistan’s interest. 

“I am here to encourage the different factions within Afghanistan to reconcile. Pakistan will play its role, we will do our best to push the reconciliation process forward but it is ultimately an Afghan decision,” He said.

He also called for an end to blame game between Kabul and Islamabad.