Pakistan postpones Afghan Peace Conference

Pakistan has postponed the Afghan Peace Conference that it was hosting in Islamabad, the foreign office said Friday.

“The Afghan Peace Conference scheduled to be held in Islamabad from 17-19 July 2021 has been postponed until after Eid Al-Adha,” said the FO in a short statement. “The new dates of the said conference will be announced later.”

The postponement of the conference comes hours after Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed “disappointment” over Afghanistan blaming Pakistan for the political unrest in the country.

“Let me assure you that Pakistan will be most affected by turmoil in Afghanistan,” he said in a speech at the Central and South Asia Conference in Tashkent Friday.

“Pakistan suffered 70,000 casualties in the last 15 years. The last thing we want is more conflict.”

The premier remarked that no country has played a role like Pakistan did to bring the Taliban to the table for dialogue. “We have made every effort, short of taking military action against the Taliban in Pakistan, to get them on the dialogue table and to have a peaceful settlement [in Afghanistan].”

It is really disappointing when allegations are made against us.

The prime minister expressed his concerns over the six million Afghan refugees. Pakistan’s economy will face a tough time if there’s another influx of refugees, he pointed out.