By IANS
Islamabad : Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf will not attend the 3-day joint Afghanistan-Pakistan jirga or council of elders in Kabul, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
President Musharraf and Afghan President Hamid Karzai were scheduled to address the inaugural session of the jirga Thursday, according to Irna news agency.
President Musharraf called President Karzai today and said that because of his engagements in the capital he could not personally attend the Peace Jirga, a Foreign Ministry statement said.
Musharraf discussed with his Afghan counterpart the forthcoming Joint Peace Jirga and assured the Afghan President of Pakistan’s full support in making the Joint Peace Jirga a success, it said.
President Karzai thanked the President for his telephone call and appreciated the President’s support for the Jirga process which the two presidents had initiated last September, the statement said.
President Karzai renewed his invitation to the President to visit Afghanistan in the near future, it said.
The statement said that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will lead the Pakistan delegation which includes a number of Federal Ministers.
The Prime Minister, along with President Karzai, will inaugurate the Joint Peace Jirga and address its opening session.
The three-day Joint Peace Jirga will be attended by around three hundred representatives from Pakistan including the tribal elders.