Islamabad: Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has asserted that the government’s effort of bringing back peace in Afghanistan should not be overlooked as peace in Afghanistan was linked with peace in Pakistan.

Speaking at United States Institute of Peace on Wednesday, Mr Qureshi, as quoted by Express Tribune, said that Pakistan was willing to bring Taliban to the dialogue table.

Pakistan is ‘criticised’ by United States for ‘providing’ safe heavens to militant group Haqqani network and having a ‘soft’ approach towards Talibans.

Haqqni network and Taliban are continuously targeting foreign forces in worn-torn Afghanistan.

“We can’t be peaceful if there is no peace in Afghanistan. But, we’ll have to have that collective approach to resolve the issue … It’s a shared responsibility and there are now more players involved,” said the foreign minister, adding that Pakistan’s influence on Taliban has diminished but the country will leave no stone unturned for the resumption of peace talks.

US President Donald Trump in January this year suspended 1.1 billion dollars of security assistance to Pakistan. In another setback, Pentagon in September announced that US military was planning to cancel 300 million dollars in aid.

Qureshi said reduction in violence in the war-torn country is the joint objective of Pakistan and the US and a realistic, honest and pragmatic approach is required.