Afghan Peace Conference in Pakistan postponed

Pakistan's Ambassador to Afghanistan, Mansoor Ahmad Khan, said on Friday that the three-day Afghan Peace Conference scheduled to be held in Islamabad from 17 to 19 July has been postponed.

"New dates will be worked out after Eid Al-Adha," Khan said in a Twitter message.

The ambassador, however, did not convey the reason for the postponement.

On Thursday, the Foreign Office said that Pakistan was hosting a conference on Afghanistan to give fresh impetus to the efforts for peace in the country.

“Pakistan is hosting the Afghan Peace Conference on July 17-19 … to provide momentum to the ongoing efforts for peace in Afghanistan,” Foreign Office Spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said at the weekly media briefing.

“The aim of the forthcoming peace conference is to engage with and consult all sides on the Afghan peace process. We hope that this conference will provide impetus to the ongoing efforts for peace in Afghanistan,” the spokesman said while explaining the objective of the conference.

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A number of senior Afghan political leaders had been invited to the conference.

According to Tolo News, 21 prominent Afghan leaders including Abdullah Abdullah, Karim Khalili, Mohammad Younus Qanooni, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Mohammad Hanif Atmar, Salahuddin Rabbani, Ismail Khan, Ata Mohammad Noor, Sayed Hamed Gailani, Sayed Eshaq Gailani, Batur Dostum and Mirwais Yasini had been invited to the conference in Islamabad.