BRUSSELS: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi met NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg here on Tuesday at the NATO headquarters in which the minister raised alarm over the fast deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.
The Foreign Minister called upon the world to provide humanitarian and economic assistance to the country for the sake of humanity.
Pakistan was desirous of resolving all outstanding issues including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute through dialogue, FM Qureshi said during the meeting.
The two discussed bilateral cooperation, the emerging situation in Afghanistan as well as other matters of mutual interest including the situation in the region.
Referring to his June 2019 meeting with the NATO secretary-general, the foreign minister said that high-level political and military contacts have played important role in the strengthening of bilateral cooperation in matters of mutual interest.
Foreign Minister Qureshi, reiterating Pakistan’s strong commitment to peace and stability in Afghanistan, expressed concern over the fast-evolving humanitarian crisis in the neighbouring country.
He said there was a need for the international community to make serious efforts to provide humanitarian and economic assistance to the people of Afghanistan.
FM Qureshi said that the cooperation of the international community with the Taliban was essential to check the possibility of people’s migration from Afghanistan and saving the country from becoming again a safe haven of terrorists and the hub of narcotics.
He said that Pakistan was hosting an extraordinary meeting of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers on December 19 to attract the attention of the international community towards the emerging humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
Secretary-General Jen Stoltenberg appreciated Pakistan’s support for NATO during its two decades’ long presence in Afghanistan.
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