Peace in Afghanistan a shared responsibility; Pakistan should not be blamed for mistakes: FM Qureshi

• FM Shah Mahmood Qureshi says Pakistan is committed to helping the Afghans rebuild their country.
• Says Peace in Afghanistan is a shared responsibility and no failure or mistake should be blamed on Pakistan.
• Says the conflict of Afghanistan was political in nature and Pakistan was also advocating for a political solution through comprehensive dialogue.

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Monday said the concept of “strategic depth” was obsolete and Pakistan was committed to moving together with Afghanistan to attain the goals of peace and economic prosperity.

“Peace in Afghanistan is a shared responsibility and no failure or mistake should be blamed on Pakistan,” the foreign minister said at the inaugural session of the conference titled ‘Pakistan-Afghanistan Bilateral Dialogue’ organised by the Regional Peace Institute.

The foreign minister said Pakistan wanted to resolve the mutual issues with Afghanistan under the mechanism of APPAPS (Afghanistan-Pakistan Plan of Action for Peace and Solidarity).

Stressing the policy of geo-economics, he said such stability was not possible without peace in the region. Peace is vital to promote trade and investment, he added.

The foreign minister said Pakistan was committed to helping the Afghans rebuild their country and was sincerely working with the international community to ensure peace.

Qureshi said the conflict of Afghanistan was political in nature and Pakistan was also advocating for a political solution through comprehensive dialogue.

He said violence and reconciliation could not go side by side and mentioned that Pakistan stressed on moving towards a ceasefire by controlling the incidents of violence.

He expressed satisfaction that the Ambassador of Afghanistan recognised the usefulness of the APPAPS, adding that Pakistan always played a constructive and positive role in the Afghan peace process.

He recalled his recent interaction with members of the US Congress during the emergency session of the General Assembly in New York, which he termed as “a complete paradigm shift” compared to the past.

He quoted Senator Lindsay Graham as saying that “today we do not see Pakistan as part of the problem, but part of the solution”.