Pakistan, Afghanistan to launch border talks in Qatar
Shafaq News – Kabul / Islamabad
Pakistan will send a delegation to Doha for talks with Afghanistan’s Taliban following clashes along their shared border, state television reported on Saturday.
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif and Director of Intelligence Lieutenant General Asim Malik will lead the mission, according to the report.
The discussions come after Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan killed at least 10 civilians just hours after a truce between the neighbors expired. Pakistan indicated the ceasefire would last 48 hours, while Afghanistan linked its continuation to Pakistan’s compliance.
A senior Taliban official, speaking on condition of anonymity to AFP, described the strikes as a breach of the truce, warning of potential retaliation.
Earlier, the Afghanistan Cricket Board reported that three players visiting the region for a tournament were killed in the airstrikes along with five others, denouncing it as “a cowardly attack carried out by the Pakistani regime.”