Afghan leadersAccording to reports the government of Canada quietly backed away from a plan to host the Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Abdullah Abdullah as the two leaders were preparing to stop in Canada following their trip to Washington.

Sources in Ottawa, Washington and Kabul, quoted in a report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation have said a plan for a two-day stopover was sketched out by the Canadian Embassy in Kabul and the Afghan foreign ministry.

The sources further added President had “responded positively” to the idea of a two-day trip for talks with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

However, the proposal fell apart on — or around — March 23 when Canadian officials balked at the size of the delegation of up to 75 people — something that would have required state visit-style preparation, the report added.

Stephen Lecce, a spokesman for the Canadian Prime Minister’s, denied anything official had been prepared for the new president who was elected following a closely fought campaign last year.

“No visit was scheduled, however we continue to engage with the Government of Afghanistan at all levels,” he said in an email.

A spokesman for Foreign Affairs, Nicolas Doire, also insisted no invitation was extended to the Afghan government.

In the meantime, New Democrat defence critic Jack Harris said the visit would have been awkward for Conservatives trying to sell Canadians on a new war.

“I don’t think this government wants to be reminded of the lack of success there,” he said. “They don’t want to revive those questions and memories of Canada’s involvement with questionable results in Afghanistan. I think that this would have been in their face and the face of Canadians at a time when they’re signing us on to another open-ended commitment in Iraq.”

President Ghani and cEO Abdullah were due to thank Canadians for the sacrifices, notably the deaths of 158 soldiers and it was expected that the stop over would give them an opportunity to lobby for continued economic development and financial assistance, specifically a long-term commitment for security force funding.

Author