ISLAMABAD - Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi Monday said that Pakistan, along with other regional and international partners, was playing its role in supporting the peace process in Afghanistan in good faith and as a shared responsibility.

Chairing a meeting of Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs here at the Foreign Ministry, the minister emphasized that Pakistan has always believed that lasting peace in Afghanistan could only be achieved through a politically negotiated process and that there was no military solution of the conflict, said a Foreign Office statement.

He said that an overwhelming global consensus on the same point had now validated Pakistan’s longstanding position.

The Advisory Council discussed range of issues related to Pakistan’s foreign policy including efforts to support peace in Afghanistan and ways to strengthen engagement with Pakistan’s overseas diaspora.

The foreign minister apprised the Advisory Council on his recent visit to the United Kingdom and reiterated Pakistan’s resolve to extend all possible diplomatic, moral and political support to Kashmiris in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking on government’s efforts to engage Pakistani diaspora, he underlined that the government was committed to adopt a robust and innovative approach to engage all segments of overseas Pakistanis.

He informed the Council that as instructed by the Prime Minister, Pakistan Missions abroad had been directed to facilitate Pakistani diaspora to the maximum.

The Council members discussed various aspects of diaspora engagement including through tourism, trade and investment, legal assistance and education etc. In this regard, the Council decided to develop concrete actionable measures.

Next meeting of the Council will be held in March.