Afghan govt, Taliban, regional countries do not want Daesh to grow in Afghanistan: FM Qureshi

• FM Qureshi says Afghan govt, Iran, Taliban and neighbouring countries do not want Daesh to grow in Afghanistan.
  
• Afghan forces have the capacity to combat Daesh, he says.   
• He says some people are conspiring against CPEC, and Dasu terrorism incident against Chinese engineers was part of that conspiracy

MULTAN: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that Iran, Afghanistan government and the Taliban do not want Daesh to grow in Afghanistan, The News reported Sunday.

Addressing a press conference at Multan's Raza Hall on Saturday, Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the Afghan forces had the capacity to combat Daesh in Afghanistan.

"Nobody wants ISIS to grow. They [the Afghan government] don't want it, the Taliban don't want it, Iran doesn't want it, [Afghanistan's] neighbours don't want it and the international community doesn't want it," the foreign minister said.

In response to a query that Moscow says Daesh militants were arriving in Afghanistan from Iraq, Libya and Syria for terrorism, he said it was the responsibility of the Afghan government to monitor the militants and keep them from growing in Afghanistan. 

"If they are shifting from Iraq and Syria, whose responsibility should it be to check them? It's the Afghan government's!"

They are shifting to Afghanistan's sovereign territory. Who should be keeping an eye on them? Who should be monitoring them? It is the Afghan government's responsibility," the foreign minister said.

"I hope they will not neglect their responsibility," he added. 

He maintained that peace in Afghanistan was necessary for regional stability and Pakistan was consulting other countries in the region to ensure the development, prosperity, and uplifting of the war-torn country.

The foreign minister said that he had briefed the Chinese authorities over the Dasu terrorist incident — which claimed the lives of 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals — and both countries have agreed on making joint efforts to foil sabotage missions against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is the project of regional development.

He was asked if the Taliban take over Afghanistan and warlords continue insurgency, then what would be the future of CPEC. The FM said some people were conspiring against the CPEC, and the Dasu terrorism incident against Chinese engineers was part of that conspiracy. However, he claimed that no group could harm the CPEC projects.

Speaking about other matters, Qureshi said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had taken concrete measures for the establishment of the south Punjab province. He added that construction work had been started at the south Punjab secretariat, and nobody would be able to roll back the initiative of ultimate formation of the south Punjab province. Earlier, he presided over the District Coordination Committee meeting held at the DC office to review the activation of the South Punjab Civil Secretariat.

Correction: An earlier version of this story had misquoted Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi as saying that the Taliban would not allow ISIS to penetrate in Afghanistan. The error is regretted and the story has been updated to more accurately reflect the foreign minister's statement on the matter.