ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan has postponed the Afghan Peace Conference until after Eid Al-Adha to be observed on July 21.
The Afghan Peace Conference was scheduled to be held in Islamabad from July 17-19, 2021, aimed at providing momentum to the ongoing efforts for peace in Afghanistan.
In a statement on Friday, the Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that the new dates of the said Conference will be announced later.
Sources said that the Conference was postponed on a request by Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani to Prime Minister Imran Khan in Tashkent.
They said that the Afghan president said that the Kabul regime would want to send a ‘more prepared delegation’ in the Conference.
Sources said that the former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the former Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, the former Afghan Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal, the Afghan Special Presidential Envoy for Pakistan Mohammed Umer Daudzai, the former Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal, Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and Ahmad Wali Masoud were among the invitees.
“A number of Afghan leaders have already confirmed their participation,” Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said in his weekly media briefing in Islamabad on Thursday.
The Spokesperson said that the aim of the Afghan Peace Conference is to engage with and consult all sides on the Afghan Peace Process.
“We are engaged with all sides in Afghanistan as part of our efforts to facilitate the Afghan Peace Process,” he said.
“We hope that this Conference will provide impetus to the ongoing efforts for peace in Afghanistan.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani led the delegation-level talks on the sidelines of the ‘Central and South Asia 2021: Regional Connectivity: Challenges and Opportunities’ Conference in Tashkent on Friday.
