Qureshi says Pak committed to play main role in Afghanistan's stability

Moscow, Mar. 28 (ANI): Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan is committed to play a main role in stabilizing the situation in Afghanistan.

"Pakistan has a central role in facilitating the stabilization process in Afghanistan, and we remain deeply committed to this goal," The Nation quoted him, as saying.

Addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Special Ministerial Conference on Afghanistan in Moscow, Qureshi said that it was Pakistan's priority to have a peaceful, stable and united Afghanistan.

He said Pakistan would continue to lend all possible assistance for the reconstruction of Afghanistan, and would shortly be hosting the third Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA) in Islamabad.

Qureshi urged the International community to stay ready for long-term engagement in Afghanistan to uplift the security, political and economic situation of the nation.

"This is possible also with sustained and long-term engagement of the international community with Afghanistan. This is possible with a comprehensive approach that simultaneously addresses the security, political, economic, and reconstruction challenges," he said.

During the conference, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia was prepared to expand its cooperation with the Western military alliance. It has already allowed the transit of non-lethal goods through its territory.

However, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, warned that the security situation in Afghanistan was continuing to deteriorate.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is also attending the conference.

The meeting comes ahead of another international conference on Afghanistan in The Hague on March 31, due to be attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other top diplomats. (ANI)