ISLAMABAD – Pakistan has welcomed UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’offer of his good offices in resolving outstanding issues between Pakistanand India.
This was stated by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi while talking tomedia in Islamabad on Tuesday after the concluding ceremony of two-dayInternational Refugee Summit marking forty years of Afghan Refugees’presence in Pakistan.
He said Indian reaction to the UN Secretary General’s offer shows India isavoiding resolution of the outstanding issues.
He reiterated that Kashmir is an international issue and India cannotenforce its illegal unilateral decisions there.
Earlier addressing concluding session of the conference, the ForeignMinister said the participants of the conference applauded the unparalleledsolidarity and hospitality of Pakistan and Iran and commended theirinclusive policies towards Afghan refugees.
The conference recognized and highly appreciated Pakistan’s generosity andprogressive policies that have enabled millions of Afghan refugees andnationals to access refuge, health, education, livelihood and socialmobility without any discrimination.
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The participants stressed that the ultimate solution lies in Afghanistanand that voluntary repatriation and sustainable reintegration is thepreferred solution for the majority of Afghan refugees.
The participants also highlighted that to enable sustainable return andreintegration, a pre-requisite would be a comprehensive Afghan led andAfghan owned peace process and urgent investment in the priority areas ofreturn.
The conference acknowledged that the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan forPeace and Solidarity could yield peace dividends for the entire region,provided that there is a firm political will to implement it.
The conference was attended by more than 500 participants, including thePrime Minister Imran Khan, the Secretary General of the United Nations, theSecond Vice President of Afghanistan, the UN High Commissioner forRefugees, Ministers and other high-ranking representatives of thegovernment.
