Pakistan making efforts for peace, stability and development in Afghanistan
Pakistan is ready to play its role in the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan, said President Dr. Arif Alvi.
Talking to journalists at Aiwan-e-Sadr Islamabad, he said the end of conflict and stability in Afghanistan will create various opportunities for rebuilding and development in Afghanistan.
As the immediate neighbor of Afghanistan, Pakistan can play an important role in peace and development efforts.
Pakistan like other nations of the world including China and the United States need assurance that the Afghan territory is not used against any other country, he added.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Pakistan was working with regional partners for an inclusive broad-based arrangement in Afghanistan to further peace and stability in the neighboring country.
Qureshi is visiting Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Iran to hold discussions on the situation in Afghanistan to develop a joint approach.
He said it was the shared responsibility of immediate neighbors of Afghanistan to play a role and promote stability in Afghanistan. “When Afghanistan will be peaceful and stable, we can benefit from the economic and trade opportunities,” he said.
Pakistan’s government permitted overflights and allowed the use of its airspace 56 times so far to evacuate those seeking to flee Kabul. The arrangements helped evacuate 3,234 foreign nationals and 323 Pakistanis. “It is not a blanket permission but we entertained all requests and allowed 133 sorties of 17 airlines and nationals of 28 countries to benefit from this facility” the foreign minister said.
Pakistan as a responsible country and as a partner in peace would continue to be supportive of the efforts of the international community for peace and stability in Afghanistan, he added.
