ISLAMAMAD - Pakistan yesterday said that peaceful Afghanistan would ensure regional progress.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Dushanbe and discussed matters of bilateral interest including Afghan peace process.

In the meeting that took place on the sidelines of Ninth Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process Conference in the Tajik capital, FM Qureshi expressed Pakistan’s desire for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan. He said Pakistan considered peace in Afghanistan vital for sustainable stability in the region. He expressed concern over the rising incidents of violence in Afghanistan and said that Pakistan’s position remained the same that the Afghan problem could not be solved through military option.

The Foreign Minister said Pakistan supported a political solution to the Afghan problem through comprehensive dialogue, adding that positive developments as a result of intra-Afghan talks could help bring Afghan peace process to a logical conclusion.

He said Pakistan was a partner for peace in Afghanistan and towards that end, Pakistan was constructively engaged with the international community to reinforce the efforts for peace.

He further underlined that the Intra-Afghan Negotiations in Doha achieved progress which should lay the foundation to take the process forward.

He expressed the hope that as the peace efforts moved forward, the Afghans would make important decisions for reaching the negotiated political settlement.

Qureshi also held a separate meeting with Afghan Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar to discuss bilateral relations and the Afghan peace process. The two sides discussed ways to ensure peace in Afghanistan.

Pakistan yesterday called for a united approach by regional countries to help restore the prosperity of the Afghan people.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Pakistan would continue to support a peaceful and stable Afghanistan through a political instead of a military solution to the conflict.

In his speech at the ninth Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process Ministerial Conference in Tajikistan capital Dushanbe, the Foreign Minister termed the Heart of Asia Process an important platform to bring together partners and supporting countries who wanted to achieve the common goals of peace, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan.

Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon and Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani attended the Conference.

The conference was attended by participants of 15 countries of the region, 16 supporting States and 12 regional and international organizations.

For Pakistan, FM Qureshi said, Afghanistan was an important neighbour and brotherly country with strong historical ties.

He said as part of the efforts to engage extensively with Afghan leaders, Pakistan consistently called for constructive dialogue and engagement to achieve positive results. “Pakistan desires peace and development in Afghanistan more than any other nation,” he said.

The FM recalled the historic development of the signing of the US-Taliban peace agreement in February 2020 and the positive role played by Pakistan in this regard.

The progress made so far has certainly provided a historic opportunity for the Afghan leadership to find a “negotiated, inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive solution” to the problem.  “Our message to all is to carry forward this process through good faith, solid and fruitful dialogue,” he added.

The FM said besides the historic opportunity, several challenges for the Afghan nation lied ahead and warned of the “spoilers inside and outside Afghanistan.”

Qureshi highlighted Pakistan’s efforts for ensuring peace in Afghanistan. He expressed deep concern over the growing incidents of violence across Afghanistan, fearing that ISIS or al-Qaeda could gain a foothold in the country.

He said that the destruction of infrastructure and the lack of economic opportunities could jeopardize the benefits of the Afghan peace process.

Qureshi emphasized taking forward and strengthening the Doha peace process and called upon the international community to secure investment in Afghanistan to achieve the goals of prosperity.

The minister proposed a number of steps towards Afghan peace including an immediate ceasefire to reduce violence, financial assistance by the international community for post-conflict development, long-term planning for Afghanistan’s economic development and creating a conducive environment for Afghan refugees to return home with dignity.

Qureshi mentioned that besides facilitating the peace process, Pakistan was providing all possible assistance to Afghanistan and had already pledged one billion dollars for its development and reconstruction.

He said that Pakistan had spent about $500 million on infrastructure and capacity building projects in Afghanistan and also introduced a new visa regime to facilitate travellers.

Despite the pandemic, he said, Pakistan opened five border crossings to facilitate travellers and trade from Afghanistan. Pakistan has also activated the Gwadar port for Afghan transit trade, he added.

Qureshi said Pakistan was keen to move forward on regional connectivity and energy projects such as CASA-1000 and TAPI and mentioned that the Trans-Afghan railway project connecting Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan was being pursued to promote trade, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

He said the China Pakistan Economic Corridor as the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative was open with beneficial prospects for Afghanistan.

He recalled that Pakistan hosted a first virtual meeting of the Regional Technical Group of Agriculture Development CBM on March 5, 2021 and the areas of cooperation agreed in the meeting included plant quarantine system, advancement of the seed industry and value crop production.