ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Thursday the pullout of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan would offer an opportunity for lasting peace and stability in the war-battered country and the rest of the region.
The US and its allies started withdrawing troops from Afghanistan after two decades of conflict after President Joe Biden announced earlier this year to bring back US forces by September 11.
The US Central Command said this week between 30 and 44 percent of the troop withdrawal had already been done.
“While the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan entails serious security challenges, it also offers a unique opportunity for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan,” Qureshi said while speaking at the fourth China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue.
China hosted the meeting with the foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan, as Beijing looks to step up its engagement with both Kabul and Islamabad amid the withdrawal of the US forces from the region.
“We strongly believe that peace, prosperity and economic development of our three countries are interlinked,” the Pakistani foreign minister said, adding that the pullout of US and NATO force from Afghanistan had “important implications.”
“We should, therefore, explore how our three neighborly countries can work together to deal with the evolving situation in an effective manner and steer it toward achieving our shared objective of lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region,” he said.
Qureshi continued that Pakistan, China and Afghanistan were located in a region which had immense opportunities to foster mutually beneficial economic and development cooperation, adding the three geographically linked countries straddled historical routes traversing east-west and north-south.
About four years ago, the three countries conceived the trilateral forum to discuss collaborative efforts to promote peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region, enhancing security and counterterrorism cooperation and deepening regional connectivity and shared economic development through meaningful projects.
The foreign minister said that durable peace and stability in Afghanistan would lead to a conducive environment for harnessing the true potential of regional connectivity and further deepening economic interdependence through use of innovation and technological advances.
“Such an outcome will surely contribute to progress, welfare and better lives for the peoples of our countries,” he said, adding that Pakistan had always strived to strengthen its relations with China and Afghanistan in the bilateral and regional contexts.
Qureshi noted that Pakistan attached huge importance to the trilateral mechanism among the three countries for enhanced cooperation and coordination in areas of shared interest.
“I am confident that today’s deliberations will further solidify our trilateral cooperation and open new avenues for future engagement,” he said.
