Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the United Nations
(JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)
Afghanistan has refused to send high-level representatives to the thirteenth Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit, which is being hosted by Pakistan this year. According to TOLOnews, neither President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani nor the country’s chief executive officer Abdullah Abdullah will be attending the event.
One of the leaders of the National Unity Government (NUG) or Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani was earlier expected to attend the summit, but the recent rise in tensions between the two countries has led to a change of heart. Afghan ambassador to Pakistan, Omar Zakhilwal, is still, however, expected to participate.
Recently, a deadly suicide attack in a Sufi shrine in the Pakistani province of Sindh killed at least 75 people. After the attack, Islamabad closed the Torkham border post, one of the key international border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
With inputs from ANI
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