Sept 3, 2021: Dominic Raab, the British Secretary of State for Commonwealth, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, outlined Britain’s intentions with regards to the Taliban government in Afghanistan on Friday, as he held a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
Raab said it would not have been possible to evacuate about 15,000 people from Kabul without some co-operation with the Taliban who occupied Kabul on August 15.
“We see the importance of being able to engage and communicate directly,” he said.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that through such dialogues with representatives of the British government, Pakistan takes its relations with the UK to a higher level.
He said Pakistan had made “tremendous progress” in getting out of the FATF’s gray list. “We have taken legislative steps, administrative steps and concrete steps,” he said.
FM Qureshi said he discussed Pakistan’s name on the UK’s red list, adding that he had told the British Foreign Secretary how people in Pakistan felt about it and what needs to be done to take Pakistan out from the Red List and in to the Amber.
The Foreign Secretary said he was pleased to have a meeting between Dr Faisal Sultan and British officials on Monday in which he would suggest ways in which “both sides can live comfortably and meet this challenge.”
“On the whole, it was a frank and candid discussion. Thank you for coming,” concluded the foreign minister.
Speaking after concluding his inaugural address, Raab said the UK values its historic relationship with Pakistan, adding that he had a positive and constructive conversation with FM Qureshi.
“We want to further strengthen our relationship with Pakistan,” he said.
He thanked Pakistan for safely evacuating British citizens from Afghanistan and added that the UK would continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
“We will continue to support Afghanistan’s neighbors, including Pakistan,” he said. We want to see a prosperous Afghanistan.
He said he the Taliban will bring stability and end violence in Afghanistan, adding that it was too early to talk about recognizing the Taliban.
Talking about Pakistan’s inclusion in the red list, Raab said Dr Faisal Sultan would meet with British officials to discuss the technical aspects of the case. “We will be able to decide to remove Pakistan from the red list on technical grounds,” he said.
Replying to a question, the Foreign Minister said that he had raised the issue of atrocities in occupied Kashmir which was being perpetrated by India. Shah Mehmood Qureshi said they discussed how Gilani was denied “proper burial” by Indian security forces, adding that it violated a person’s fundamental right.
Qureshi added: “There will be hundreds of funerals for Gilani. “It is not possible to suppress freedom of expression,” he said. The Pakistani foreign minister said he had discussed the issue with Raab, who said Britain’s position on Kashmir was a stated and well-known one.
“However, he told me that it does not stop them from raising human rights issues. If the UK authorities do that, thank you.”
In response, Raab said that the UK has a longstanding policy of encouraging India and Pakistan both to pursue a longstanding solution to the Kashmir crisis.
“It is not for the UK to impose its solution to the Kashmir crisis,” he said, adding that London encouraged both Islamabad and New Delhi to hold concrete dialogue over the issue.
Raab had reached Islamabad Thursday night for a two-day visit to Pakistan to discuss bilateral ties and the situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban swept the country.
Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi had earlier held formal talks with Secretary of State Dominic Raab. The talks covered the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and bilateral issues.
Foreign Secretary Raab will also hold leadership-level talks, the Foreign Office said in a statement. He will meet Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa.
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