Afghan leadership responsible for failure, success of talks: Shah Mahmood Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday said that only Afghanistan’s leadership would be responsible for the failure or success of the Afghan talks, ARY NEWS reported.

“If Afghan talks succeed, it will be the success of the entire leadership of Afghanistan and if it fails, it is them to be blamed for it,” the foreign minister said in presser while making it clear that Pakistan would not be responsible for their failures.

He said that Pakistan has chosen its path and there is no ambiguity in it that there are no favourites for them in the neighbouring country. “There is an attempt to blame Pakistan,” he said while also lamenting that even voices from within the country including one from a legislator have targeted the country.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project is facing conspiracies and attacks near Serena hotel in Quetta, Dasu dam, Johar Town are carried out by similar groups that wanted to hurt the multi-billion dollar project.

Their efforts will, however, not succeed and works on the CPEC project will continue, he said.

Read More: ‘A MATTER OF DEEP REGRET’, PAKISTAN ON EXCLUSION FROM UNSC BRIEFING ON AFGHANISTAN

The foreign minister also lamented that Pakistan was not allowed to speak at the UN Security Council on Afghanistan and said that they would be eyeing the presidency of the forum in 2025, which is currently being held by India.

He said that Pakistan has paid the cost of the Afghan war with its lives and money and they are not in favour of a military takeover of the neighbouring country. “We are on one page with the international community and the United States,” he said.