Pakistan confirms postponed visit by Afghan Chief Executive

Pakistan said on Thursday that Afghanistan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah has postponed his upcoming visit to Islamabad.

Abdullah's office had earlier said that he will not travel to Pakistan after a deadly suicide bombing in Kabul Tuesday that killed nearly 70 people and injured over 300.

The Afghan leader was scheduled to pay a two-day visit in the first week of May.

"The Afghan side had indicated Abdullah would visit Pakistan on May 2-3," a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

"The visit has been postponed. The new dates would be worked out through diplomatic channels," Nafees Zikria told a weekly briefing.

The spokesman said the terrorist attack in Kabul has been strongly condemned by the Pakistani leadership and the entire nation.

"We believe that violence and bloodshed is not the way to achieve peace. We have therefore, strongly condemned the terrorist incident in Kabul," Zikria said.

To a question about the peace process in Afghanistan, he said Pakistan has been engaged in sincere and consistent efforts to facilitate an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process to bring lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan.

The peace process has not yet started after the Taliban refused to take part in the talks under the Quadrilateral Coordination Group of Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States.

The QCG had invited the Taliban groups to direct talks with the Afghan government by the first week of March in Pakistan.

The spokesman said the next meeting of the QCG would take place when the four countries are ready.

"I think there is a common desire on the part of all QCG members to see peace in Afghanistan and there is a desire that all those who are supposed to be on the negotiation table are there," Zikria said.