Afghan-Pakistani Security Talks Mediated by Qatar in Doha

SadaNews - The Taliban government confirmed on Saturday that it will participate in talks with Pakistan in Qatar the day after the ceasefire, which had temporarily restored calm to the border between the two countries, came to an end.

The spokesman for the Taliban government, Zabiullah Mujahid, stated via "X": "A high-level delegation from the Islamic Emirate, led by Defense Minister Muhammad Yaqoob, is heading to Doha today (Saturday)."

Pakistan's state television previously announced that a Pakistani delegation would head to Qatar on Saturday to hold talks with the Afghan Taliban.

According to sources who spoke to Al Arabiya, mediators are seeking to obtain approval from both sides to announce an extension of the ceasefire, which ended at 6 PM on Friday.

Despite several international news agencies announcing on Friday that an agreement had been reached between the Taliban and Pakistan to extend the ceasefire, sources from the Taliban denied to Al Arabiya that there was any agreement to extend the ceasefire between the two parties before the negotiations began.

Two senior leaders of the Afghan Taliban arrived in Qatar to hold talks with Pakistani officials, amid rising border clashes between the neighboring countries, according to reports from official media controlled by the Taliban on Saturday.

The reports added that Defense Minister Mullah Yaqoob Mujahid and intelligence chief Mullah Abd al-Haq Wathiq arrived in Doha early Saturday morning. The visit aims to hold talks with Pakistani representatives regarding security cooperation and border tensions, according to the Afghan news agency Khaama Press.

The talks are expected to be mediated by Qatari officials, following reports that both sides are seeking a long-term ceasefire after a series of bloody airstrikes and retaliatory attacks that occurred in recent days.

This visit comes at a time when Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban of harboring militants from the Pakistani Taliban, while Kabul condemns the repeated Pakistani airstrikes in Paktika province, which have resulted in the deaths of many civilians, including women and children.