Islamabad Meeting Delayed Due to Kabul Pressure 

DID Press: A meeting of political and civil society activists opposing the Taliban’s caretaker government in Afghanistan has been postponed due to pressure by officials in Kabul. The event is now rescheduled for one month later, reported Pakistan’s Nation media outlet.

Fawzia Koofi, head of the organization Women for Afghanistan, wrote on X that the postponement may provide a valuable opportunity to organize the meeting with greater depth and comprehensiveness. She believes that a higher-quality event can help improve the situation for Afghanistani women and the wider population.

Amir Khan Muttaqi, Acting Foreign Minister of the Taliban-led government, had expressed serious concerns to Pakistan’s foreign minister about hosting the conference.

Shafqat Ali Khan, spokesperson for Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, clarified in a weekly press briefing that the meeting is being organized by a think tank, and the Pakistani government is not directly involved. However, he confirmed that Islamabad will issue visas to participants.

The conference has now been postponed three times. Initially scheduled for June 25–26, it was delayed by one month, and subsequent rescheduling followed the same pattern.

Former U.S. diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad has strongly opposed the meeting, calling it “unwise and provocative.” On X, he told invitees that he could not accept their names being associated with the “ISI seal” and claimed that he had persuaded some participants not to attend the meeting.