Qureshi, Khalilzad agree on Pak-Afghan peace, stability goals

Pakistan believes peace in Afghanistan is directly and positively related to long lasting stability in Islamabad, foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told the United States' new adviser on Kabul, Zalmay Khalilzad, on Thursday night during a meeting.

The former US diplomat, who was reappointed to the US State Department as an adviser earlier this month, was accompanied by Ambassador Alice Wells, the senior bureau official for South and Central Asian Affairs at the Secretary Mike Pompeo-led office.

Qureshi reiterated Pakistan's pledge for supporting peace in Afghanistan, to which Khalilzad responded by saying he, too, wishes to work with Islamabad for the joint goal of stability.

Back in September, Pompeo, while on a flight to Pakistan, had told reporters that “Ambassador Khalilzad is going to join the State Department team to assist us in the reconciliation effort … and be the State Department’s lead person for that purpose.”

The Pakistani foreign minister also met with his Bahraini counterpart, Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, wherein the two leaders agreed on improving the bilateral trade and investment.

Al Khalifa also assured Qureshi that Pakistani expatriates in Bahrain will be offered every possible assistance.