Pakistani FM to visit Iran, Tajikistan, other regional powers to consult on Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan‘s foreign minister will travel to countries in the region, including Iran and Tajikistan, tomorrow, Tuesday, to consult on the situation in Afghanistan whose neighbors are urging it to try to reach an inclusive political settlement as soon as possible.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced this in a statement released on Monday ahead of his visit to Uzbekistan on Tuesday on a trip that will also include stops in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Iran. He said he had already spoken with officials in China by phone.
“I will go to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Iran and consult with the leadership there,” Qureshi said. “We have had talks with China.”
As the Taliban takes over in the strategic, landlocked nation, Pakistan, India, China and other regional powers are looking to cement their grip.
Pakistan has deep ties with the Taliban and has been accused of supporting the group as it battled the US-backed government in Kabul — charges denied by Islamabad. When the Taliban captured Kabul last week, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said Afghans had broken the “shackles of slavery.”
India, Pakistan’s old enemy, was a key supporter of the ousted regime in Kabul, but over the past year as the Taliban emerged as a dominant force and US-brokered negotiations began in Doha, Indian diplomats had opened a line with the group.
Qureshi dispelled the idea that Pakistan had a problem with India’s relations with any government in Afghanistan.
“No objection to India’s good relations with Afghanistan,” his statement said, also rejecting Indian media reports that the foreign minister had traveled to Kabul recently.
“Indian media made a fuss about my going to Kabul, Indian media should confirm before speaking,” Qureshi said. “I did not go to Kabul.”

Pakistani FM to visit Iran, Tajikistan, other regional powers to consult on Afghanistan