FM Qureshi says negotiated political solution only way forward for Afghanistan

• It is a unique opportunity for Afghans to show farsightedness, says FM Qureshi.
• FM Qureshi's comments came during Pakistan-Afghanistan-Turkey trilateral meeting.
• We as brothers can only facilitate, says the foreign minister.

ISTANBUL: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Friday a negotiated political solution was the only way forward for Afghanistan, as he lauded the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Turkey trilateral meeting.

“It is a unique opportunity for Afghans to show farsightedness. If they suffer, everybody will suffer. It is important that Afghans sit together and find a way forward,” he said while addressing a joint press conference along with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavusoglu following the trilateral meeting — hosted by Turkey.

The foreign minister said as there was no military solution to the Afghan conflict, adding Pakistan had urged and would continue to pursue all the Afghan parties to sit together and find a way forward.

“We as brothers can only facilitate,” he remarked.

He said a peaceful and stable Afghanistan was in the interest of Pakistan, which had suffered the most due to war in Afghanistan than any other country in the world.

The foreign minister said during the trilateral meeting, they discussed various issues relating to Afghanistan, including economic, security, migration, refugees, etc.

“Illegal migration is an issue, which needs to be tackled,” he said, adding he also discussed this issue during his visit to Tehran.

During the trilateral meeting, the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Turkey, and Afghanistan discussed the latest developments in the Afghan peace process and exchanged views on achieving the shared objectives of a peaceful and stable Afghanistan through an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned political process.