Pakistan on Thursday urged the international community to encourage national reconciliation and undertake an extensive reconstruction program for south and southeast Afghanistan in addition to what it is being done for the rest of Afghanistan.

Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson in a statement also called for addressing the problem of narcotics in Afghanistan.

Clarifying remarks attributed to Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri by the British Daily Telegraph, the statement said the foreign minister did not say that the Taliban were winning the war in Afghanistan and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was bound to fail nor has he advised any country against sending more troops.

"The foreign minister's comments have been distorted and misrepresented," the spokesperson said.

The foreign minister had only reiterated what Pakistan has been stressing all along the need for a comprehensive strategy, she said.

"The foreign minister had emphasized that military approach alone would not resolve the problem in Afghanistan. It must be combined with political and economic approach," she added.

Source: Xinhua