Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi met his Afghan counterpart on the sidelines of SCO moot in Dushanbe on Tuesday.

During the meeting, the duo exchanged views on the latest developments in Afghanistan in wake of the formal announcement of US military pullout plan and steps to bring sustainable peace to the war-torn country.

FM Qureshi reaffirmed Pakistan’s support to a peaceful and united Afghanistan, saying Islamabad has always wanted peace in its neighbouring states. 

About the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan, he urged the Afghan leader to achieve a negotiated political settlement at the earliest so that peace, stability and prosperity could be brought to it.

Afghan leaders should avail the historic opportunity and take advantage of international convergence on the final settlement of the Afghan conflict by working together an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement, he remarked. 

Qureshi expressed concern at the surge of violence that inflicted loss of lives and stressed the need for stepping up effort to curb this crime. Immediate steps are need of the hour for a comprehensive ceasefire to put an end to deadly violence, he added.

He stressed that 'negative statements' could not cloud Pakistan’s positive contribution to the Afghan peace process and said blame game would not serve for the region. The Pakistani FM urged his Afghan counterpart to address all concerns through established institutional mechanisms, including APAPPS.

He said that Pakistan looked forward to hosting review meeting of APAPPS in Islamabad at the earliest. Pakistan supports a peaceful and stable Afghanistan, which would bear fruit, he reiterated.