ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that the Pakistani government would be “open to giving” a pardon to members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) if they promise not to get involved in terrorist activities and submit to the Pakistani Constitution.
In an interview with an international newspaper on Wednesday, the foreign minister said Pakistan was concerned about the reports of TTP figures being released from prisons in the wake of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
“If those guys come and start creating problems for us over here, it will affect innocent lives and we don’t want that,” he said while referring to the TTP.
Qureshi said if the new Afghan setup could use its influence and talk to the TTP, and “if [the TTP] are willing to mend fences and not take the law into their hands and not get involved in terrorist activities and they submit and surrender to the writ of the government and the Constitution of Pakistan, we are even open to giving them a pardon.”
“But as long as they do not come and start undertaking terrorist activities [in Pakistan]. That is our concern,” the minister emphasised.
Qureshi termed as “positive” the Afghan Taliban administration’s announcement that they would not allow any terrorist groups to use their soil against any country, including Pakistan.
He said Pakistan had been “continuously” pointing out TTP sanctuaries to the Ashraf Ghani government, “but they wouldn’t move”. It remains to be seen whether the Afghan Taliban act on their assurances, Qureshi added.
FM QURESHI, UAE COUNTERPART AGREE TO REMAIN IN CONTACT OVER AFGHANISTAN SITUATION: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi held a telephonic conversation with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Qureshi congratulated his UAE’s counterpart on making excellent arrangements for Expo 2020 and hoped that the mega event would be a resounding success.
They agreed to remain in close contact on bilateral matters as well as regional issues, including the situation in Afghanistan.
PAKISTAN RULES OUT REFUGEE CAMPS TO CATER AFGHAN INFLUX: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has rejected the notion of building refugee camps or resettlement processing facilities on Pakistani soil for the people coming from Afghanistan.
Instead, he said, Pakistan would continue to facilitate the departure of those with valid documents who wished to exit Afghanistan via Pakistan – drawing the line at allowing an influx of refugees.
In an interview with The Independent, Qureshi said Pakistani authorities would consider “on merit” formal requests from the UK for British representation in their embassy in Kabul to help with applications – an idea senior Tory MP Tobias Ellwood told the UK-based paper that the government should pursue with its allies, such as Qatar and Turkey.
Qureshi said there had been “no rush” on Pakistan’s borders, and stressed that there was no need for people to flee Afghanistan as the country was “peaceful and stable”.
