Unspecified reasons: Karzai-Nawaz meeting cancelled

Sources say President Zardari, PM Gilani had no objection to the meeting.

ISLAMABAD:

A meeting arranged between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif has been cancelled due to unspecified reasons.

The meeting was arranged by the Foreign Office on the initiative of Afghanistan’s ministry of foreign affairs. “Sharif will not have an opportunity to meet Karzai during the Afghan president’s two-day visit to Pakistan,” official sources told The Express Tribune, requesting anonymity.

The meeting was cancelled after instructions were received by those at the helm of affairs, The Express Tribune has learnt. However, sources said that President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had no objection to the meeting.

It is common for foreign leaders to hold talks with opposition leaders of different countries during their visits to the capitals. However, in the case of President Karzai, the tradition will not be followed this time around.

“It is not the first time that a meeting between a foreign leader and Sharif has been cancelled,” a source at the Foreign Office told The Express Tribune. “Many similar meetings between visiting European leaders and Sharif, arranged by the ministry of foreign affairs, were cancelled at the eleventh hour.”

The reason cited for the cancellation of each of these meetings was “insufficient time in the schedule”.

“One should not call it an act of discourtesy on the part of Islamabad,” the official said referring to the cancellation of Karzai-Nawaz meeting. “It has happened on several occasions in the past.”

However, it is expected that the two leaders will have an opportunity to meet during a state dinner to be hosted by President Zardari in honour of his Afghan counterpart.

Sharif has been supporting a negotiated settlement of the Afghan crisis. He has been critical of the role of intelligence agencies in Pakistan’s fight against terrorism as he considers the restoration of peace in Afghanistan essential for long-term peace in Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2011.