Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the well-being of the Afghans must remain the focus, as they have suffered enormously due to prolonged conflict and instability for decades.
While chairing the Foreign Ministers’ virtual meeting on the Afghan issue also attended by China, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, Qureshi on Wednesday emphasized the importance of proceeding with a realistic approach in view of the changed reality in Afghanistan, reports Xinhua news agency.
A shared approach would help Afghanistan on its path to peace and stability and would result in enhanced economic integration and realization of connectivity projects, he said.
During the meeting, Qureshi drew the attention of the international community to addressing the humanitarian crisis and preventing economic meltdown in Afghanistan as the key priorities.
He expressed hope that the meeting would lay a strong foundation for a robust regional engagement on the situation in Afghanistan.
He said that even though the situation in the war-weary country is “complex and fluid”, its “new reality” required the world to discard “old lenses” and proceed with a “realistic approach”.
“The situation in Afghanistan remains complex and fluid. We hope the political situation stabilizes leading to normalcy soon. The new reality requires us to discard old lenses, develop new insights and proceed with a realistic/pragmatic approach,” he said in one of his tweets.
The meeting comes a day after the Taliban unveiled a hardline interim government led by Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund, with key roles being shared by high-profile members of the insurgent group, including a specially designated global terrorist of the dreaded Haqqani Network as the interior minister.
The Taliban said it had completely captured Panjshir, the last holdout province of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, after the US troops withdrawal last month.
The last batch of US troops left Afghanistan at midnight on August 30, one day before the August 31 deadline set by President Joe Biden, ending a 20-year war into the South Asian country.