UK foreign secretary, Pakistani counterpart discuss Afghan situation

KARACHI, Pakistan

The British foreign secretary and his Pakistani counterpart on Sunday urged the advancing Taliban that violence in Afghanistan must end and human rights must be protected.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi received a call from Britain's Dominic Raab to discuss the rapidly evolving situation in Afghanistan.

Both the diplomats shared their respective views on the situation in the war-torn country amid the lightning Taliban advances, said a Foreign Ministry statement.

Reiterating Pakistan’s "steadfast" support for a peaceful settlement, Qureshi said the latest situation in Afghanistan required the international community’s consistent engagement with the Afghan leaders to ensure a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.

He hoped the Afghan leaders would take advantage of international convergence in support of the peace and reconciliation process.

Qureshi, according to the statement, also apprised Raab of Pakistan’s efforts to fully facilitate the evacuation of personnel and staff of diplomatic missions, international organizations, journalists, and others, as requested.

Drawing the attention of Raab to the UK’s decision to retain Pakistan on its Red List of coronavirus-hit countries, he expressed the hope that the UK would revisit its decision in the light of the data shared with the relevant UK authorities.

Later, Raab tweeted he has shared his "deep concerns" about the future for Afghanistan with Qureshi.

“(We) agreed it is critical that the international community is united in telling the Taliban that the violence must end and human rights must be protected,” he said.