US Secretary of State calls Pakistan FM to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.
Pakistan says US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called the country’s foreign minister to discuss the path forward in Afghanistan after the Taliban’s swift takeover.
The ministry’s statement Tuesday quotes Shah Mahmood Qureshi as telling Blinken by phone that an “inclusive political settlement was the best way forward” for resolving the current political impasse.
Qureshi said Pakistan would remain closely engaged with the US and other international partners in promoting efforts in support of a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.
The latest development comes hours after Pakistan’s political and military leadership called for a political settlement of the conflict in Afghanistan.
➖ Shared that continued U.S. economic engagement with Afghanistan was of crucial importance.
➖ Discussed Pakistan’s work to facilitate evacuation of personnel and staff of diplomatic missions, international organizations, media et al https://t.co/1ZoceRWQBq— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) August 16, 2021
The Taliban have seized power in Afghanistan two weeks before the US was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a costly two-decade war. A defiant US President Joe Biden has stood by his decision to end America’s longest war.
The US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 ousted the Taliban from power, but they never left.
After they blitzed across the country in recent days, the Western-backed government that has run the country for 20 years collapsed. Afghans, fearing for the future, are racing to the airport, one of the last routes out of the country.
