Pompeo, Pakistan FM discuss regional security

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday held comprehensive meetings with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton, to discuss bilateral ties, regional security and issues of mutual interests.

According to Pakistan’s The News, Islamabad maintained that it wants to work with the US to bring peace and prosperity in Afghanistan.

Qureshi was accompanied by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua and Ali Jahangir Siddiqui, the Pakistani Ambassador to the US.

During an earlier meeting with Bolton, Qureshi said Pakistan welcomed and supported the US’ renewed efforts for political resolution for the Afghan conflict.

In a statement issued by Qureshi, he reiterated Islamabad’s long-held position that there was no military solution to the situation in Kabul, stressing the need for a negotiated settlement of the conflict.

The foreign minister stated that Pakistan would continue to support the efforts for an Afghan-owned and -led peace and reconciliation process and that the country regarded peace and stability in Afghanistan as vital for its own long-term stability and progress, the statement read.

Referring to Islamabad’s continued efforts to positively engage the national unity government in Afghanistan, Qureshi underlined that the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) offered the most effective mechanism to promote the mutually-beneficial cooperation between the two neighbouring states, the statement added.

The two leaders agreed that a continued cooperation between Pakistan and the United States was in the interest of regional peace and security in South Asia.