Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Pakistan was not responsible for Afghanistan’s internal problems and made out to be a scapegoat by Afghanistan whenever its affairs didn’t appear to be moving in the right direction.
In an interview with Afghanistan’s Tolo News, the foreign minister said the interviewer’s question on Taliban presence and freedom of movement in Pakistan was an “exaggeration”. He said “Unfortunately when things aren’t moving in the right direction, you’re (Afghanistan) looking for scapegoats and the favourite scapegoat you have is Pakistan. When there’s failure within (Afghanistan) you blame Pakistan for that.”
“Pakistan is not responsible for the failure within, for the squabbling going on in Afghanistan, if the Afghan leadership can’t sit and work out a peace deal,” he added
The foreign minister Qureshi said that the bulk of the Taliban leadership was not in Pakistan but Afghanistan and the former was only engaging with them to “facilitate the peace process” and try to be “helpful and constructive”.
“Many have started recognising that internationally but some in Afghanistan still have that mental blockade of accepting the fact that Pakistan is being genuine, constructive and sincere because Pakistan feels it is in our enlightened interest that there is peace and stability in Afghanistan.”
Pressed again on whether the Taliban were funded in Pakistan, the foreign minister responded: “You’re stuck in the old groove. Please get out of that groove. If you remain stuck in this then believe me you will not be able to travel far and we want you to travel far.”
Shah Mahmood Qureshi stressed that Pakistan wanted Afghanistan to be peaceful and stable because that would yield mutual dividends and benefits such as regional connectivity, adding that economic security and promotion of regional bilateral trade could only be achieved through peace.
He said there were notions that Pakistan was concentrating on a particular faction but in reality, “we want to engage with and be friends with everyone and be friends with Afghanistan and Afghans.”
The foreign minister said both countries realised there were issues between them and would always remain, hence they had agreed on a “structured and institutionalised mechanism” to sort them out when they arose, referring to the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity. He pointed out that though it was functioning, it could be used more effectively.
Pakistan would be “happy” to train Afghan security forces but so far, the Afghan leadership hadn’t taken the offer seriously. “We honestly feel that we can be of assistance […] We speak the same language, you know, culturally, we have so many similarities. They will feel at home,” said FM Qureshi.
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