Islamabad Conference Chair Invites Khalilzad to Pakistan

Kokcha News Agency: Maria Sultan, the chair of the Islamabad Conference, has invited Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan, to attend the conference as an honorary guest. This comes after Khalilzad criticized Pakistan for hosting a meeting of Taliban opponents, calling it “irresponsible and regrettable.”

In a post on X, Sultan responded to Khalilzad’s criticism, stating, “Since our conference has disrupted your peace and people-to-people interaction seems to threaten your world, we invite you to join this dialogue as an honorary guest.”

Khalilzad had earlier accused Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of being the main organizer of the conference. He wrote, “Afghans have the right to oppose the Taliban regime. However, given the historical relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan, I believe Pakistan is repeating its past mistakes by pitting Afghans against each other.”

Fawzia Koofi, a women’s rights activist, also reacted to Khalilzad’s comments, stating that the political and civil rights of the Afghan people have been stripped away due to his mismanagement and ill intentions. She added, “It is disheartening that Khalilzad is trying to discredit the dialogue of Taliban opponents.”

The conference, scheduled for October 25-26 in Islamabad, will be the first public meeting of diverse Afghan political groups since the Taliban’s return to power. Notable figures such as Nasir Ahmad Andisha, Afghanistan’s representative in Geneva, Mustafa Mastoor, former Afghan Minister of Economy, Fawzia Koofi, and Zahra Joya, head of Rukhshana Media, are expected to attend.