ISLAMABAD, 24 September 2021, (TON): Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi is finally met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in New York on Thursday for talks that are expected to focus on Afghanistan.

The meeting, which lasted almost an hour, began at 1pm New York time at the Palace Hotel in New York City, according to Blinken’s schedule on the website of the US Department of State. This is the first meeting between the two top diplomats.

Pakistan has long desired high-level contacts with the US leadership, particularly after the collapse of the US-backed government in Kabul.

Qureshi, who is in New York to attend the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, has held a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts. He used his meetings and other engagements to urge world leaders to stay engaged with Afghanistan’s new rulers.

He is expected to make the same argument in his meeting with Secretary Blinken as well. Pakistan, however, has not yet publicly backed the Taliban’s call for a seat in the UN General Assembly.