Amritsar: Pak's envoy to Afghan to partake in Heart of Asia Conference

Amritsar (Punjab) [India], Dec.2 (ANI): Pakistan's Ambassador to Afghanistan Abrar Hussain is set to take part in the official level talks in the Heart of Asia conference which is scheduled to take place in Amritsar, Punjab tomorrow. This came days after Pakistan's Adviser on Foreign Policy, Sartaj Aziz announced his participation in the event. Both high level officials will be representing Pakistan at the official level talks tomorrow. From the Indian side, Finance minister Arun Jaitley will lead the delegation at the two-day Sixth Heart of Asia (HoA) conference, an external affairs ministry official said. Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is undergoing treatment for kidney failure, will not attend the meeting. However, it is not clear whether Pakistan will hold any bilateral meeting with India on the sidelines of the summit. "We have not received any request from Pakistan for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of Heart of Asia ministerial conference," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup. The conference will see the participation of representatives from over 30 countries, including China, United States, Russia, Iran and Pakistan to discuss peace, cooperation and economic development in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is the permanent chair of the HoA, while India, which is its co-chair, will host this year's conference. The main ministerial conference will be inaugurated jointly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on December 4. The 'Heart of Asia' platform was floated with an aim to encourage security, political and economic cooperation between Afghanistan and its neighbours. (ANI)