Qureshi urges the world to see Afghanistan as a ‘shared responsibility’

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday said Afghanistan must not be seen through a regional prism, but as a “shared and collective responsibility”.

“Instability in Afghanistan will have negative consequences for the entire world,” he said in his address at a seminar on ‘Perspectives on the evolving situation in Afghanistan’ organized by the Centre for Afghanistan, Middle East & Africa (CAMEA) of the Institute of Strategic Studies.

Pakistan’s Daily Times reported that Qureshi also urged the world not to forget Afghanistan in light of new conflicts emerging and that the wounds of 40 years of war and bloodshed in Afghanistan would take a long time to heal.

“Failure is not an option. If the world community fails Afghanistan yet again, it will result in a fresh influx of refugees, enhanced space for terrorism, and a rise in drug trafficking,” he said.

He said he hoped that with the help of regional countries and international partners, the proud Afghan nation could once again rise to become an important country in terms of regional peace and stability, economic trade, and regional connectivity.

He said there was hope that Afghanistan had the potential to move towards a viable and sustainable future. “Therefore, the immediate task that the international community, in general, and regional countries, in particular, need to focus on, is the stabilisation of the country,” he said.

“Besides the immediate need to avert a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, we also have to focus on long-term infrastructure and connectivity projects in Afghanistan,” he said adding that in the long run, Afghanistan had the potential to develop as the trade and energy corridor for the region.

“We are working with Afghanistan in following up on key infrastructure and connectivity projects, a facilitative regime to assist the easy movement of people and goods across the border, and to augment the capacity of Afghan institutions,” he said.

Qureshi stated that Pakistan being a neighbouring country, had a major stake in the peace and stability of Afghanistan.