President Trump has accepted PM Khan's invitation to visit Pakistan: Qureshi

Dunya News

President Trump has accepted PM Khan's invitation to visit Pakistan.

WASHINGTON (Dunya News) – Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Washington on Tuesday stated that the meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan and United States President Donald Trump has demonstrated a joint resolve to promote peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan.

Addressing a news conference, he said the meeting also conveyed commitment to promote peace in South Asia and U.S. President Trump has expressed his facilitation role in resolving the Kashmir issue.

“A new era of relations between Pakistan-America has begun…Trump has expressed will to resolve the Kashmir dispute,” he said, adding that such willingness couldn’t be observed before.

“Even in India, there is a group which hopes for achieving peace between the two countries, but the main hindrance is the long-standing dispute of Kashmir, and peace could be established in the region by resolving it,” he added.

“It is the first time that any [Pakistani] prime minister has apprised U.S. president about the dispute and previously no president had offered to mediate for its resolution.”

The foreign minister revealed that Trump had said that the trade volume between both countries was low, and expressed wish that it be increased by 10 to 20 times. “We don’t want aid instead trade,” he maintained.

Qureshi said delegation-level talks were held between the two countries and revealed that Trump expressed will to have “a very good relationship with Pakistan.”

He said talks between the two countries comprises three meetings and the third meeting was extended in which Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi, Special Advisor to Prime Minister Hafeez Sheikh, Advisor for Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, Zulfi Bukhari, Chief of Army Staff and Director General ISI were also present.

Qureshi said the U.S. has also endorsed Pakistan s desire for peace in Afghanistan. President Trump has accepted PM Khan s invitation to visit Pakistan.