Conference on Afghan Peace Process Proposed by Pakistan Postponed, Reports Say

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A peace conference on Afghan settlement, proposed by Pakistan, has been postponed to a later date, Afghan Pajhwok News reported on Thursday.

Initially, the conference was planned for 17-19 July, according to the invitation note by Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, published by Pajhwok.

"Given the geographic proximity and close ties ... of Pakistan and Afghanistan, I am pleased to extend an invitation to visit Pakistan from 17 to 19 July 2021, to participate in the peace conference on Afghan [settlement] in Islamabad," the note said.

However, the agency noted, citing a source in the office of the Afghan president, the conference was postponed to a later date.

Earlier in the day, Pakistani broadcaster 1TV announced that Pakistan was ready to host a conference on the Afghan peace process with the participation of all key stakeholders. The Afghan president's security adviser, Mohammad Mohaqiq, reportedly agreed to participate in the event.

In this Sept. 12, 2020, file photo, Taliban negotiator Abbas Stanikzai, center front, and his delegation attend the opening session of peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, in Doha, Qatar. Afghanistan’s Taliban on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020, welcomed a tweet from President Donald Trump in which he promised to have the last of the U.S.'s troops out of Afghanistan by Christmas. If that withdrawal happens, it would be months ahead of schedule and the tweet made no reference to a Taliban promise to fight terrorist groups — a previous pre-requisite for an American withdrawal.

© AP Photo / Hussein Sayed

Afghanistan has been engulfed in clashes between the government forces and the Taliban*, who have stepped up offensive as the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country is nearing its end.

Afghan media reported earlier this week that a number of Afghan politicians, including former president Hamid Karzai and head of the High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah, will soon hold talks with the Taliban representatives in Qatar's capital, Doha.

The Taliban* is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia