Millions of Afghan refugees being provided basic facilities despite crises: FM Qureshi

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday has told that millions of Afghan refugees are being given basic facilities in Pakistan despite crises.

Addressing the two-day International Conference to mark forty years of Afghan Refugees’ Presence in Pakistan, the minister said that resolving Afghan conflict is inevitable for peace in the region. The relation between Pakistan and Afghanistan is based on joint religion and culture, he added.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi told that Pakistan is hosting five million refugees as per Islamic values. All the migrants have hopes with this conference, he asserted.

The minister further stated that no country can handle this issue alone. 

It is to be mentioned here that the conference was inaugurated by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan while United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, ministers and senior officials from around twenty countries also participated in the event.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that Pakistan has always supported peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan as it believes that peace in the neighboring country will improve regional stability.

Addressing a joint news conference along with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Qureshi said that we had a very fruitful meeting with the UN Secretary General in which we discussed a host of issues.

He said we have to agree on a time bound roadmap for repatriation of Afghan refugees, supported by the international community.

Pakistan is a responsible member of the UN and there is a lot of two way cooperation between the two. We are committed to principles and values of the UN charter. We support multilateralism instead of unilateralism,” he said.