Qureshi underlines joint counter-terrorism strategy

KABUL’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Saturday underlined the need for a joint strategy to eradicate the menace of terrorism from the region.

Terrorism could be banished and the objective of peace achieved through collective efforts, he told reporters at the end of talks with his Chinese and Afghan counterparts. 

“We all desire peace and stability in Afghanistan; Pakistan will benefit the most from peace and stability on the neighboring country,” remarked the visiting foreign minister.

Pakistan would do all it could to bring Afghan groups to the negotiating table, he promised, But the Afghans themselves would have to determine how they wanted to enforce peace, he said. 

His Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani agreed Pakistan had an important role to play in bringing peace to Afghanistan.  He said peace in his country was vital to security of the entire region.

Eradication of terrorism would pave the ground for economic development and job creation, Rabbani hoped, calling for concerted efforts by all stakeholders to stabilise the region.

For his part, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hailed Afghanistan and Pakistan as China’s friends. Beijing would help them to overcome the bilateral trust deficit, he assured.

China would also help implement connectivity projects, including a railway line linking Peshawar with Kabul and Kandahar, the minister announced.

The peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan could be promoted by bringing the Taliban to the table of negotiations, e concluded.

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