Pakistan invites former Afghan president to special conference

Prime Minister Imran Khan has invited former Afghan president Hamid Karzai to attend a special conference on Afghanistan, according to Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry.

The premier talked to the leader over the phone, he tweeted on Wednesday. Pakistan will be hosting a special conference on Afghanistan and details regarding it will be revealed soon.

“We hope that this important development will give rise to new hopes for a solution to Afghanistan’s problems,” the minister added.

On Wednesday, the government sealed its Chaman border after Taliban militants captured the strategic border crossing of Spin Boldak on the frontier with Pakistan.

Due to this, a number of people crossing the Pakistan border were stranded.

Afghanistan’s interior ministry denied the insurgents had taken the area even as social media was flooded with pictures of Taliban fighters relaxing in the frontier town.

Spin Boldak is the latest in a string of border crossings and dry ports seized by the Taliban in recent weeks, with the insurgents looking to choke off much-needed revenue from the government in Kabul while also filling their own coffers.

With additional input from AFP. Follow SAMAA English on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.