ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi gives a strong message to Afghanistan over bilateral talks.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said any reservations Afghanistan has with Pakistan should be resolved bilaterally rather than involving the United States.
The foreign minister's remarks were in reference to part of a joint US-Afghan declaration on peace efforts signed on Saturday by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at a ceremony to coincide with the signing in Doha of an agreement between the Taliban and US.
“The United States commits to facilitate discussions between Afghanistan and Pakistan to work out arrangements to ensure neither country’s security is threatened by actions from the territory of the other side,” one of the clauses of the declaration reads.
“They should talk directly to Pakistan. The US is planning to withdraw and we will always remain neighbors,” Qureshi told *Reuters link* in an interview, referring to Washington’s intent to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.
“If I have an issue with Afghanistan, I will not ask Washington to play a role.”