Sharif holds meeting with top officials over Afghan conference

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today held a meeting with top security and intelligence officials to discuss preparations for a crucial regional conference here on Afghanistan next week for which Pakistan has invited External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
The 'Heart of Asia' conference will be held from December 8, where representatives from Azerbaijan, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and the UAE are expected to attend.
Pakistan has also sent an invitation to Swaraj.
Swaraj may travel to Pakistan for the multilateral meeting, a move that could break the impasse in Indo-Pak ties.
However, when asked about her visit to Pakistan, Swaraj earlier this week said, "It is not final so far".

Sharif today chaired a meeting which was attended by Advisor to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, National Security Advisor (NSA) Lieutenant General (retd) Nasir Janjua, Director General ISI Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar, special assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi and other senior officials.

"Issues of regional and national security were discussed during the meeting," according to an official statement.
Earlier, National Security Advisor Janjua called on Prime Minister Sharif at his house and briefed him about the preparations for the conference.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is expected to visit Pakistan to jointly inaugurate the conference with Sharif.

The Afghan conference will discuss the current situation in Afghanistan with particular focus on helping the war-torn country's economy.