‘We must continue to convince Taliban to take the next steps,’ says FM Qureshi

TEHRAN: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who is in Iran on a two-day official meeting, has termed terrorist organizations in Afghanistan a threat to global peace, urging the Taliban-led Afghan government to ensure the country does not become a safe haven for such elements.

Addressing a ministerial meeting of Afghanistan’s close neighbours in Tehran Qureshi said, “It is important to find a peaceful solution to Afghanistan as the country was going through a serious economic crisis.

The Taliban rose to power in Afghanistan later in August after the US forces withdrew from the war-torn country, ending a 20-year military presence there.

Appreciating that Afghanistan saw a smooth transfer of power “without any bloodshed” the minister said that “the expansion of the interim cabinet in Afghanistan is the right move.”

However, FM Qureshi added that Afghanistan was going through a critical time, and “all stakeholders must avoid repeating mistakes of the past, maintain positive engagement and show solidarity with the Afghan people.”

The minister also welcomed $1.2 billion in aid from the United Nations for Kabul, however, FM Qureshi stressed that the country must also get access to its frozen assets.

“Fortunately,” FM Qureshi said, “There was no large-scale relocation of refugees from Afghanistan, but the Afghan people [who are left behind] are now in dire need of food and medicine.”

“We must continue to convince the Taliban to take the next steps while incentivizing this process,” Qureshi added.

“International and regional community must remain engaged and intensify humanitarian assistance.”

“We should devise, collectively, a longer-term roadmap to advance the agenda of political engagement, economic integration, and regional connectivity.”

“For all of us, failure is not an option,” the foreign minister maintained.