ISLAMABAD – Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday hit out at India for failing to fulfill its obligation as president of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as it did not invite Pakistan to attend a key meeting on Afghanistan.
Addressing a press conference, Qureshi said that India had denied a request made by Pakistan to apprise the forum on the situation and its role in Afghanistan.
He was referring to the UNSC meeting held last week to discuss worsening situation in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US-led foreign troops. During that meeting, Afghan envoy had blamed Pakistan for providing safe haven to Taliban fighters. The accusation was later rejected by the Foreign Office as “mere fantasies”.
The foreign minister said that Pakistan suffered the most after Afghanistan due to instability in the neighbouring country.
He further said that peace and stability in Afghanistan is a shared responsibility of the international community and Pakistan has played its role in this regard.
He highlighted that Pakistan facilitated the Afghan Peace Process with utmost sincerity, adding that Islamabad is a facilitator and not the guarantor of peace in Afghanistan.
He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has always emphasised on the need of peaceful resolution of Afghan conflict. He said a negotiated, inclusive and broad-based political settlement is the only way forward to establish peace in Afghanistan.
Asking Afghan government for constructive talks, he urged the officials of Afghanistan to refrain from blaming Pakistan for failures of others.
Regarding investigations into Dasu bus incident, he said that the probe into the matter has almost completed and soon its findings will be shared with the media after consultation with China.
