High-level Afghan officials bail on Canadian conference after visa hassles

OTTAWA – Some of Afghanistan’s leading political and government officials have pulled out of a major university conference in Ottawa after getting the bureaucratic runaround from Canadian consular authorities.

Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the former foreign minister who ran unsuccessfully in 2009 against President Hamid Karzai, and Amrullah Saleh, who was head of the country’s notorious intelligence service, were both among the scheduled speakers at the conference.

Both they and their staff were told that in order to get a visa to travel to Canada, they’d be required to present themselves at the embassy in neighbouring Islamabad, Pakistan.

The journey would be perilous, especially for Saleh, who as a former intelligence chief is prized target for Taliban militants in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Canada’s former head of development in Afghanistan, Nipa Banerjee, organized the conference and said she’s disappointed and frustrated with the Canadian government’s refusal to grant visas.

The one-day event was billed as an opportunity for Afghans to speak about Canada’s legacy and Afghanistan’s future after the planned withdrawal of NATO troops in 2014.