Iranian, Pakistani clerics skip key event on Afghanistan

The High Peace Council (HPC) on Tuesday said at least 56 clerics from different Muslim countries have been invited to the ulema conference on peace and security in Afghanistan in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
However, Ulema from Pakistan and Iran were absent from the two-day meeting being hosted by the Saudi government and OIC, HPC Secretary Akram Khpalwak told Pajhwok Afghan News.
At least 35 Ulema from Afghanistan and 65 from other countries were attending “International Conference of Muslim Scholars on Peace and Stability in the Republic of Afghanistan”.
He said OIC had invited top scholars to the meeting. Only Dr. Qibla Ayaz, chief of the Islamic Ideology Council of Islamic, who was one of the 15 Pakistani invitees, attended the meeting.
He said no Islamic scholar from Iran was attending the conference. Iran probably had its own reasons but did not share them with Afghanistan and OIC, Khpalwak added.
The International Ulema Conference is being held in Jeddah and Makkah on July 10 and 11 respectively.
This comes as both Iran and Pakistan are considered as important players in Afghan conflict, since they are accused of support for the Taliban, so their Ulema’s presence in such a conference was crucial.